Arrival of the Assassin and a Confession
by RedWolf210
Summary: Utau Kizume is one of the best assassins in the Five Shinobi Nations. She is sent to kill Natsumi Niikyo, who cannot seem to escape Utau's grasp. Who will help Natsumi? SasukeXOC. Rated T
1. Chapter 1

New fanfic. I just keep getting ideas man, lol. Well, this story has a new character in it for one of my best friends. Hope you like it. And I'd like to thank my good friend Kuro for helping me with the title of this fanfic!! A thousand thanks to you Kuro!! :D

Notes: _Thoughts_, **_Dreams_**, **_Inners_**, ~[time skip]~, ~[scene change]~, *~*~*~*(dividers as you all know)

Enjoy!! :D

* * *

Running through the trees, a shadow made its way in the direction of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The shadow looked around, searching for its target. The figure stopped quietly on a branch and peered down. It was staring at the top of someone's head. Red hair – one of the distinct characteristics that the assassin was told to remember. She waited for the ninja to reveal their village symbol that resided on their forehead protector. The shinobi looked up, and the assassin hid as well as peeked at the headband.

It was the symbol for Konoha.

_Bingo…_thought the assassin. She silently pulled out her fukiya (bamboo chute) and loaded it with a poison dart. As the red-haired kunoichi walked away, the assassin fired the dart, and it hit the back of the target's neck. The young woman fell, but then puffed into smoke. A log lied on the ground in the target's place.

A Substitution Jutsu. The assassin cursed silently and started to run, knowing that she had given away her position to the enemy. She was suddenly cut off by the redhead. They faced each other, not moving whatsoever. The stare down's silence broke when the Leaf ninja spoke.

"Utau Kizume," she said in recognition.

The assassin glared. "Natsumi Niikyo," she said, returning the hard tone. Natsumi smirked at Utau, who kept a straight face.

"Who hired you to kill me?" the redhead asked.

"I am not allowed to tell you such information," Utau replied. She was still for a minute, but then she was gone in a flash. Natsumi waited, pulled out a kunai and blocked the assassin's senbons. Utau suddenly appeared crouched in front of Natsumi, short sword in hand. She jabbed the blade at her target's stomach, but Natsumi moved just in time for a slash in the side instead of a stab.

Natsumi stepped to the side and made a hand-sign. She disappeared into the leaves, but Utau was not afraid of losing her target. To her, it only meant that it would be a more entertaining kill. The assassin ran in the direction of Konoha, checking the ground for blood from her prey. She found several drops heading toward the village, but then the frequency of seeing the trail diminished. Utau did not worry, since she already knew where the Niikyo lived.

_This one is very interesting_Utau thought. _I will still catch her and complete my mission though._ She sped up toward the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

*~*~*~*~*

Natsumi arrived at her house and quickly went inside. After locking the door, she turned around to be face-to-face with Sasuke Uchiha. She jumped back, causing herself to bump into the door. She sighed and then stared at the boy. "Why the hell must you scare me like that?" she asked.

"I didn't mean to scare you," the Uchiha replied, a smirk on his face.

The girl slightly glared at him, and then she winced and looked down at her left side. Sasuke looked down as well and noticed the blood dripping from Natsumi's hand, which was covering her wound, and onto the hardwood floor. "It's not that bad," she said. "The scare made my heart pump more blood than before, that's all."

"Who did that to you?" he asked, ignoring her explanation. "What happened?"

"Missions are bound to give me some cuts, I'm fine, okay?"

"You didn't answer my question."

"I don't want you to worry, Sasuke."

"Natsumi, you not telling me is worrying me already." When the girl looked up she was staring into his eyes. "What happened?" he repeated.

"All that happened was that I got into a fight."

"With who?"

After a minute of two of hesitation, Natsumi mumbled, "Utau Kizume."

"You have Utau Kizume after you?!" Sasuke's voice then became dark. "Who hired her?"

Natsumi shook her head. "I don't know," she answered. "She wouldn't tell me, but she gladly tried to stab me."

"How bad is--"

"It's not that bad. I healed most of it, but it's not completely healed yet."

"Then sit down and heal it," Sasuke said. His tone was stern, but Natsumi knew it was only that way to hide his worry for her, which he forgot to cover at the earlier of the conversation. She did as he said and sat down on the living room couch and began to heal the rest of her wound. Once she finished healing the slash with her chakra, Natsumi stood up and went upstairs to her room to change into a different shirt. As soon as she came back into the living room, she saw that Sasuke was sitting on the closest couch.

"So why are you here?" Natsumi asked him as she sat down next to him. "Better yet _how_ did you get in my house?"

The boy smirked. "You left your balcony door unlocked, so I figured you were inside. When I didn't find you I was heading for the front door to leave, but you came in."

"So you came here to see me...why?"

"I wanted to see if you got yourself into trouble like you always do these days." The Uchiha shook his head. "I swear, you are a danger-magnet." Natsumi playfully punched his shoulder, and he raised an eyebrow at her.

"I care for you too," she answered with a grin. When Sasuke's mask of calm faltered a bit, she laughed quietly. "Come on, you don't have to hide it." The boy did not reply, and that made the Niikyo feel a bit regretful that she had said that. He never likes to talk about his feelings, and it was very rare that he would talk to her about them. She looked away from him and at the old family photos that were sitting on the coffee table. Next to that frame was another photo, but this time there were the Uchihas with her family. The girl zoned out, lost in the memories of her childhood until she felt someone's arms wrap around her and a chin resting on her shoulder.

"You miss them, don't you?" came Sasuke's voice, carefully ringing in her right ear.

She nodded slowly, staring at the photo of her parents. The picture was of Natsumi's father and mother sitting on the step of their house, and the father's arms were wrapped around her mother's shoulders. Both of her parents were laughing in the photo, their eyes smiling to show their beautiful eye colors: her father's a blue, almost green and a brilliant gold for her mother. Natsumi's golden eyes watered when a horrible mental image appeared before them.

_So much blood...the red had soaked Kaa-san's clothes..._Natsumi closed her eyes and shut them tight while a small shiver ran down her spine as she saw the life leave her mother's eyes as they closed forever. Natsumi, who was only seven when this happened, had known that she wasn't going to wake up again. From what she learned about the human body then, she discovered that her mother had lost too much blood, and it was too late. She remembered her mother's last words:

**_"Natsumi...Mayume...be strong for yourselves and become the best you can be..."_**

_Kaa-san...._

Sasuke felt Natsumi shake once more, and then he felt several tears fall onto his hands. The Uchiha hugged her tighter so that she was pressed up against his chest. Natsumi started to sniffle, which turned into crying sobs in a few seconds. She turned toward Sasuke and leaned into his chest and continued to cry, which the Uchiha didn't protest against.

_She may be one of the toughest kunoichis I know,_ Sasuke thought, _but she does have her breakdowns, and she needs comfort..._It sounded odd for him to comment like that, but she had helped him through his tough spots in life, and he wanted to return the favor. Besides, he knew what it felt like to lose his entire clan, the loneliness, and the emptiness and anger. Natsumi was great at hiding her emotions, but it takes a toll on her later, and only he has seen those breakdowns. A loud sob broke him from his thoughts and made him hug her tighter.

"Thank you..." Natsumi whispered, soundly slightly choked up.

"Hn."

"Must 'hn' always be your answer to stuff like that?" She wiped away a tear that was moving slowly down her face.

"Maybe..."

His tone of voice made Natsumi look up, and Sasuke was looking down at her. The two stared into the other's eyes for a minute, and then the boy leaned toward her. Natsumi came up a little bit and closed her eyes as their lips met. The kiss lasted only a few seconds since Sasuke pulled away. Natsumi frowned slightly, and Sasuke chuckled.

"Meanie..." Natsumi muttered. She just leaned against his chest and stayed there. "You know, sometimes I think you're bipolar." She glanced up at the Uchiha once again.

"Hn."

"Okay, I'll give you that one." Natsumi then stopped talking and remained quiet, waiting for the boy to push her away or threaten her in some way to get off of him, but nothing came. After some silence, she asked, "Should Tsunade-sama know about the assassin on my tail?"

"Probably, she knows that you're one of the best shinobi she has."

Natsumi smiled a little. "Thank you for the compliment." She stirred a bit in Sasuke's arms, and he let her go. "I should get going there before it gets dark -- Utau's favorite time to strike." She stood up, and so did Sasuke.

"I'll go with you, so you don't have to face Utau alone."

"Heh, you'd probably discourage her, more annoyance." She walked outside the door, and after a moment of stillness Sasuke followed. Natsumi chuckled and continued to walk toward the Hokage's office.

* * *

The moon was starting to reach its peak in the sky, and Sasuke and Natsumi were walking back to the Niikyo household. They walked in silence, listening to the natural sounds of the night as well as any unusual noise that might be caused from a stalking assassin. The moon, even though it was a thin crescent, lit up the forest path rather well. Silence had lasted almost hallway to the house, but Natsumi spoke. "Do you think that she followed me here?" she asked the Uchiha.

"Hn, maybe she did, but that is pretty risky considering how many ninjas are in this village," Sasuke replied. He kept his gaze straight ahead. Natsumi shrugged and looked in the same direction. A few minutes passed, and Natsumi felt a faint, throbbing pain in her side that was cut by Utau. She casually placed her hand on her side and sped up a little to catch up with Sasuke, but as she gained speed, the pain became more sharp. The Niikyo slowed down again and remained just a little ways behind Sasuke. She began to make a small pattern of speeding up and slowing down, and the Uchiha noticed her face wincing in pain as she sped up. He slowed down, and Natsumi seemed to be relieved that he did. "Is something wrong Natsumi?" he asked.

"Not really," she answered. "It is just a small pain in my side, probably bad rhythm of intake." Right when she said that, a burning sensation erupted in her side, and she clutched her side and fell over. Sasuke quickly moved and caught her before her head hit the ground.

"Are you okay?" His tone had a hint of concern as he spoke this time.

"I...think Utau did something to her sword before she cut me... She might have had some kind of poison on it..." Natsumi waited for the burning to subside, and as soon as it did she said, "It's gone now, you can let me go now."

Sasuke nodded and helped her stand up before letting her stand and walk by herself. They finally reached the Niikyo household and went inside. Natsumi sat down on the living room couch and stared at the ceiling. Sasuke walked into the licing room and sat across from her. "You okay?"

"I think Utau is here. My side is probably is hurting because of some kind of jutsu of hers."

"You really need to calm down Natsumi. Utau wants you to freak out, that way she can catch you faster."

"Since when did you care?" Natsumi's tone sounded somewhat mocking. She kept her gaze on the ceiling, and Sasuke was confused.

"Are you sure you're okay, Natsumi?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she answered. "Don't you have other things to do? You must be bored with me and all. You don't have to pretend to care about me." The couch shifted weight, and Sasuke's face came into the Niikyo's field of vision. She blushed slightly -- he was only an inch away from her own face. "Uh...what are you doing...?" The Uchiha stared into her eyes for a minute, and then he backed away, leaving Natsumi confused. "What was that about?" she asked.

"Hn," he said. _I can't believe that I was about to kiss her again,_ he thought._ What the hell is wrong with me?_

**_You like her that's what,_** said his Inner self (a conscious if you like to put it that way).

_I do not._

**_Oh yes you do. You kissed her once, and you were about to do it again. Why didn't you do it? She wouldn't have minded._**

_I shouldn't mess with her like that._

**_Mess with her? You WANT to be with her, so why don't you? You like her, and she likes you, perfect match._**

_I can't do it._

**_You can't because...?_**

_She doesn't like me, what the hell are you talking about with her liking me? She is trying to kick me out._

**_She probably wants you to be safe. Come on Sasuke, if I think that she likes you, then that means that YOU think she likes you._**

Sasuke then ignored his Inner self and looked at Natsumi. She was holding her side a little, so he asked, "Is the pain back?"

Natsumi looked at him, the confusion clear in her eyes. "A little bit. You should get going. I don't want you to get into my problems." She stood up and headed for the stairs. "Good night, Sasuke-kun." Natsumi walked up the stairs and out of sight onto the second floor. Sasuke waited downstairs and sat down on the couch again.

**_So Sasuke, when are you going to tell her you like her?_** Sasuke's Inner asked.

_I'm not going to tell her._

**_What?! Why not?!_**

_...I don't want her to get hurt..._

**_So you do care about her? Very nice. Well, what are you going to do now? Stay here? or go back to your house all alone for another night?_**

_Utau is probably nearby. I should stay here._

**_There we go Sasuke, good thinking._**

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The crescent moon was up high in the starry night sky, and Utau was sitting in a tree on the outskirts of the Hidden Leaf Village. She was trying to figure out how she was to get past the large wolf pack that is guarding the area. She figured that there was about twenty or so of them, and she was surprised about that. Utau began to plot her way of entering the area and get to Natsumi's house to finish her off. _I could distract the wolves with some meat, or I can just slaughter them as I make way to the Niikyo's house. That would make my presence known though... _Utau smirked. _I don't have to attack tonight, that would be no fun -- it would all end to quickly. Maybe I should give her a taste of what I can do to her. _Utaumade several hand signs and focused on the presence of the target. _With the sample of blood that I got from her, I can do whatever genjutsu I want easily. This will be entertaining._

~Over at the Niikyo household~

Natsumi began to stir in her sleep as she was given a nightmare from Utau:

**_Natsumi was standing in a clearing of the forest. She looked around as a mist covered the area, blocking perfect vision of the trees and what was lurking behind them. Laughter echoed throughout the area, and Natsumi pulled out a kunai and got ready. She quickly waterbended the mist to dissipate to reveal Utau with her senbon ready to throw. Utau smirked. "Too late," she said. The assassin threw ten senbon, and Natsumi deflected them with her kunai. She was caught by surprise by a sharp stab in three parts of her back. The Niikyo turned around to see Utau vanish into the mist again._**

**_"Damn it," Natsumi muttered. Her back started to feel numb. She heard the faint scuff of a foot on dirt and pulled out her katana just in time to block Utau's short sword. Natsumi pushed the assassin away, and then she stabbed the young woman in the chest._**

**_Utau laughed, and then she became water and exploded._**

_Darn, Water Clone Jutsu,_ _**Natsumi thought. She looked around, and barely dodged a senbon to the face. It scratched her left cheek, and it stung. Natsumi speedily created a wall of ice to block ten senbon, and then melted the ice to drop the senbon. A bell rang, and Natsumi dodged a senbon with a bell tied to it and ducked to dodge the "hidden" one. **I have no time to waste. I need to break this Genjutsu.**The redhead made handsigns and shouted, "Release!"**_

**_Laughter rang in the circle of trees. "It is no use Natsumi!" Utau said. "My Genjutsu is impenetrable! You can't destroy it once I have a sample of your blood! You're DOOMED to experience death a thousand times over, HAHAHAHAHA!"_**

**_Natsumi gritted her teeth in anger, and then she dropped down and did a spin-kick. Bright, large red flames streamed out from her foot, and it spreaded in a wide, wild ring. The mist was shoved aside, and Utau leaped from the fire. Natsumi shot several fireballs at the assassin, who made a blob of water fro the leftover mist in the air and put them out. Two bomb kunais met Utau and exploded in her face. A body fell out of the black smoke and into the raging forest fire below. Natsumi looked around, thinking that the Genjutsu should be over, but she didn't see any change._**

**_"You almost had me there," came a voice. Natsumi gasped and turned around to see Utau's brownish-grey eyes. Something was thrusted into Natsumi's chest, and the girl's eyes widened. Natsumi looked down and saw the hilt of the assassin's short sword in her heart._**

**_"It...can't be..." Natsumi gasped._**

**_Utau pulled the Leaf kunoichi closer and whispered in her ear, "I will kill you, Natsumi Niikyo. I never miss a target. And don't worry, I'll make your real death SLOW and PAINFUL." The woman chuckled, and then she pulled out the sword from Natsumi's chest, and Natsumi fell back while fading into unconsciousness._**

She could not breathe. The Niikyo thought that she was actually dead, but then she heard a voice:

"Natsumi! Breathe! Wake up!" The heavy weight of the darkness was weakened, and Natsumi slowly opened her eyes and closed them again. She began coughing, and then her eyes snapped open while she sat up with quick speed. She looked at the person sitting next to her, and it was Sasuke Uchiha.

Sasuke had been asleep downstairs when he heard a demonic laughter coming from nowhere. Before he had opened his eyes, he saw Utau's grinning face with a bloody short sword in hand, and he instantly thought about Natsumi. Sasuke had woken up fast and ran upstairs to see Natsumi unconscious in her bed and not breathing. He had gotten worried and tried to wake her up. Now that she was awake, he was fully relieved.

"Natsumi, what happened?" he asked.

The Niikyo stared at the boy's face for a minute before answering. "Utau came into my dream through a Genjutsu and showed me how easily she could kill me," she said. Natsumi put her hand over her heart and took a deep breath. "She's really good, though I think she was holding back... I didn't stand a chance..." She hugged herself and stared at the foot of the bed.

Sasuke frowned slightly and wanted to hug her, but he resisted. When he noticed that she was crying, he sighed in defeat, slowly sat down and carefully wrapped his arms around Natsumi in a caring hug. His quiet gesture made Natsumi cry more. He decided to ignore that and concluded that she was just scared from the nightmare and hugged her tighter. After she had calmed down, he asked, "Do you think you can go back to sleep?"

"Yeah..." She felt Sasuke's arms let her go, and she wanted them to be around her again. _What am I thinking? He'd never like me, and I shouldn't bother him with such things._The Niikyo lied down on the bed and rested on her side. She took one last look at Sasuke and then closed her eyes.

Sasuke waited a few minutes to make sure that she was asleep before standing up and leaving the bedroom. _I should just wait downstairs and wake her up if she gets another nightmare, _he thought. The Uchiha steped quietly down the stairs and sat down in the living room. He decided to lie down on the couch and go to sleep. _Hopefully Natsumi doesn't mind me staying here for the night._

**_What makes you think that she would mind? You're a good friend of hers and she likes you, come on, she doesn't mind you crashing at all...I think..._**

_Well that's helpful. Should I get out of here before she wakes up and freaks out thus yelling at me and everything that goes along with it?_

**_Well maybe, but if you TELL HER that you love her she wouldn't mind you staying the night. You see how that works?_**

_Shut up, I'm going to sleep now._

**_Fine, you win this round Mr. I'm-in-denial. Now just make sure you keep alert to anything that relates to intrusion and nightmares._**

Sasuke sighed and closed his eyes. He then fell asleep a few minutes later.

~Somewhere outside Konoha~

Utau was finishing up lighting candles on the sides of a large, unraveled scroll. She sat down cross-legged before it, and then made a series of hand-seals. The assassin then slammed her hand down on the black inscriptions that lied within the circle that was drawn on the scroll. There was a puff of smoke, and then a white fox was sitting before Utau in the circle. The young assassin bowed to the fox. "Greetings," she said.

"Have you completed your mission yet?" the fox asked Utau.

"I am sorry master, but this target is a feisty one. I will take care of her in no time."

The fox huffed, "You had better, for I do not like having to tell the boss such news. He will allow you a week from tomorrow, and he expects you to be early." The fox bared its teeth and snarled at her. "If you know what is best for you, kill her within three days. The boss will send us after within that time to observe your work."

"Yes sir," Utau muttered. The snowy fox grinned, howled, and vanished in a puff of smoke. "Damn fleabag... He wants me to be killed. Jealous bastard." Utau quickly cleaned up the summoning scroll and put out the candles. "I better kill that redhead soon, but I can't seem to get her to come out! Hm, maybe a few more nightmares will help -- she's bound to break soon, she may even kill herself to rid her mind of my appearances." The assassin chuckled at the thought. She created hand-seals, and then started the mind games once again.

~One week later~

Natsumi could never get any peaceful night of sleep. Every time she fell asleep, Utau attacked her mind with gore, blood and death. With no sleep at night, she tried to shut her eyes for a minute or two every once in a while, but mental images kept appearing from the previous night. Sasuke had been stopping by more frequently, checking on how Natsumi was doing. When the girl nearly passed out while cooking something, Sasuke went over to the Hokage's office to notify her about Natsumi's condition.

"She hasn't been getting any sleep at all," the Uchiha explained. "With all the genjutsu/nightmares she gets three minutes of sleep a dayif she's lucky! Tsunade, you really need to do something." He stared at the woman sitting before him at a large wooden desk, and she stared back.

"I'll go take a look at her in an hour," the woman said. "Meanwhile, I will send a squad of ANBU after Utau and try to get her under custody." When Sasuke nodded, she nodded back and added, "Thank you for notifying me. I will be over there shortly. Dismissed."

Sasuke bowed and left Tsunade's office and out of the Hokage building. The Uchiha then started to head over toward the Niikyo household. Once he arrived at the house, he knocked on the door. A muffled, somewhat strained "come in" came from the other side of the door, and Sasuke unlocked the door and walked inside. He saw Natsumi lying down on the long couch, and he walked over to her.

"How are you feeling?" Sasuke asked.

"Like I'm going to die from no sleep," Natsumi mumbled. "I have a huge ass headache, my eyes burn, and my body is exhausted."

"Well, Tsunade-sama said that she was going to stop by to check on you in a hour. You think you can last that long?"

"I've gone through a week haven't I? I think I can manage."

_I wish I could believe that,_Sasuke thought. He figured that she hadn't looked in the mirror lately -- her face was pale; there were dark circles under her eyes; and she honestly looked like she was going to pass out any second. The Uchiha sat down on the other couch beside her and said, "It's a good thing that Tsunade's coming, you don't look so good Natsumi."

"No shit," she muttered. She looked at the glass window at her reflection. "I look like a freakin' zombie."

"Utau has to be on a chakra limit. She can't go on forever like this; she needs sleep too." When he looked up from the floor and saw that Natsumi had fallen asleep. He waited for the tossing and turning, the frowning, the whimpering...nothing. _Did Utau...?_Before he could finish his thought, Natsumi started to stir in her sleep. _I guess not._He reached over and shook Natsumi. He really hated to prevent her to sleep, but he hated seeing her suffer from the nightmares more. "Natsumi, wake up."

She stirred, and then she sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Man, I was having a good rest when she showed up..." She put her arm down and winced.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked.

"My shoulder..." Natsumi looked at it and saw a bloody gash on it, and her eyes widened. "It can't be..."

"What Natsumi?"

"I was cut by Utau in this same spot..." There was knock at the door, and the two teens froze. Sasuke got up and slowly walked to the front door.

"It's me," Came Tsunade's voice. "Let me in." Sasuke did so, and the woman entered the house. Tsunade looked at Natsumi, and the girl sat up straight and stared back at her. The Fifth Hokage then walked over to Natsumi and kneeled down next to the couch. She examined the Niikyo's face, and then the noticed the cut. "She's using more intense genjutsu?" she asked.

Natsumi nodded. "I think so." Tsunade continued to ask questions, and Natsumi answered without hesitation. Sasuke waited by the front door, trying not to disturb their privacy yet staying in the house. After about ten or so minutes, Tsunade stood up and walked toward the door. She stopped beside Sasuke and motioned for him to go outside. He did so, and she followed after bidding Natsumi good-bye. Tsunade closed the door and faced Sasuke.

"She's not doing well, as you know," she said. "Her mind is becoming very unstable since it is really stressed. I think there are other things that are bothering her besdies Utau, and I have a feeling that it has something to do with you, Sasuke."

"What do you mean Hokage-sama?" Sasuke asked.

She sighed. "I mean that you should come clean with her. Tell her what you feel, if you care and such. Yes, you are there for her, but if you're going to be there without a justified reason, it will push Natsumi to the edge and....she may commit suicide." She watched as the Uchiha tensed at the word, and she continued. "Keep an eye on her, stay with her at all times, and you know when there are exceptions in that order. I want you to try to use your Sharingan to get into her mind and fight Utau in the Genjutsu she is using. You are the only one who can do this. I could try to get Mr. Yamanaka to do it, but he is far too busy. I apologize for leaving it up to you, but I will come by later to treat her exhaustion."

"Of course Tsunade-sama," Sasuke said. "And don't worry about the order for the genjutsu handling. I will do my best."

"I know you will," she replied with a sly smile. She then bidded him good-bye and left the Niikyo property. Sasuke watched her disappear behind the bend in the forest path, and then he went back inside the house. He peeked into the living room and saw Natsumi sleeping again. This time, she did not stir, shiver, wince, scream, or cry while slumbering. Sasuke smiled a little to see that she was finally getting some sleep. The peaceful sleep only lasted two minutes before Natsumi began to toss and turn on the couch. Sasuke quickly ran to her side and shook her gently.

"Natsumi, wake up," he said. The girl slowly opened her eyes. She sat up, and Sasuke found some room to sit next to her. Natsumi leaned into his chest and began to cry. Surprised, the Uchiha hesitated before placing his arms around her in a hug. Once again, his silent comforting gesture made the Niikyo sob even more, even louder. Finally, after a week of this pattern, he asked, "Why do you cry more when I hug you?"

Between sobs she answered, "Because...I'm confused... I don't know what you think and all... I don't understand your gestures at all!" Her sobbing increased, and she had to catch her breath before continuing. "Please, Sasuke-kun, answer this question truthfully. No 'hn's at all, okay?"

"...Alright, what is your question?"

"Do you really care about me, or are you just acting to care and are really annoyed with me?"

* * *

Dun Dun DUUUUNN...

Mwhahahaha!! Cliffhanger!! :)

I must end it like that. I want to see who cares about Sasuke's answer. If you want to know the answer, REVIEW this chapter!! I accept signed reviews as well as aynnonomus ones AS LONG AS THEY DO NOT DISS ME IN A REALLY BAD WAY. (ie racism, "go to hell", "this sucks ass" etc.) IF YOU DIDN'T LIKE THIS STORY THEN DONT REVIEW OR CONTINUE READING! I DON'T GIVE A DAMN IF YOU HATE IT.

*takes a deep breath* okay, sorry about that, but I needed to get my point across. Plus I didn't get much sleep (like Natsumi here) and I'm totally cranky. So, enough with my monolgoue. You have a life to get to and a review to write, if you really like this chapter. Good night peeps.

~RedWolf210


	2. Chapter 2

Previously in Arrival of the Assassin and a Confession, Natsumi had asked Sasuke this question:

"Do you really care about me, or are you just acting to care and are really annoyed with me?"

Now my good fellows, here is the answer: (as well as more of the story xD)

* * *

Sasuke had frozen at the question the Niikyo had asked. He thought about his answer for a minute, and then he replied, "I really care about you, Natsumi." He saw the girl nod while she stared at the floor. She looked rather depressed, and he sighed.

"What's wrong with you?" she questioned.

"Nothing." Natsumi gave him the "tell-me-now-or-else" look but ended up yawning, and Sasuke chuckled.

"Sleepy?" he asked.

"You have no idea."

"Well, I think that you can sleep better now, right?"

"I'm still going to get nightmares Sasuke."

The Uchiha hugged the red haired kunoichi. "I'll be here." Natsumi gave him a puzzled look, and he picked her up and started walking toward the stairs while carrying Natsumi bridal style.

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun," she said after giving up on asking for an explaination. _Man, I really think he is bipolar._Sasuke carried the girl into her room and set her down on her bed. He pulled the covers over her, and she smiled at him. Natsumi then closed her eyes and almost instantly fell asleep. Again, the boy waited for the nightmares to begin, but nothing happened for the moment. He sat down in a chair by the girl's bed and waited. A few minutes, passed, and Natsumi stirred. Before Sasuke could wake her up, she opened her eyes.

"Did she appear?" Sasuke asked.

She shook her head. "No, she hasn't shown up."

"Then why did you wake up?"

"I wanted to ask you a question."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "What do wanna know?"

"What did Tsunade tell you outside the door?"

"Oh. She told me that she was sending out the ANBU after Utau, and that I should help you get rid of the genjutsu."

Natsumi sat up a little bit. "How could you help with my nightmares?" she inquired.

"My Sharingan, remember?"

"Right... Do you really think you can do it, break the genjutsu?" She watched as Sasuke got up from his chair and sat down next to her on her bed. He hugged her.

"I'll do the best I can, and I am pretty confident that I can break it." He then asked, "Do you want me to try right now?" The Uchiha watched Natsumi fidget a little and waited for her answer.

"I guess you can try," she answered. Natsumi looked up at him. "So, how's it going to work?"

"Well, Utau didn't appear probably because you weren't fully asleep. So, if I use the Sharingan to help you sleep, she'll appear, and I think I'll be able to get into the dream and see what I can do." He stared at the girl's face. "What do you think of that idea?"

The girl nodded. "I'll go with it." Sasuke nodded, and then he closed his eyes. Natsumi waited, and when his eyes opened and revealed the Sharingan, she froze immediately. The red eyes were very intimidating, and she couldn't look away. As the black markings in the Sharingan spun, Natsumi was pulled into a trance, and she then passed out and fell forward. Sasuke caught her and held her in his arms. He then made her lie back down in her bed again, and he made a hand-seal and did a genjutsu to enter the Niikyo's mind.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

**_Natsumi was standing on the surface of a lake, once again the mist surrounded her. The Niikyo quickly formed an ice wall that surrounded her to protect herself against any attack from Utau. The assassin's introduction was always her evil laugh, and then several senbon struck at Natsumi's defenses. Natsumi ejected the needles from the ice and sent them back into the mist. "Hm," Utau said, "Not that bad Natsumi. You're getting better at this." Something grabbed her leg, and Natsumi was pulled down into the water._**

**_The water was ice cold, perhaps even colder. Its chill made Natsumi gasp and lose most of her air. She opened her eyes in the water and saw Utau as well as a clone of the assassin. She looked down and saw that there was a third Utau clone, who was grinning the evil grin the assassin used. One Utau punched Natsumi in the gut, and the Niikyo coughed up more air. Natsumi punched the clone, or the real one, away and turned into an electric eel. She zapped the Utau that was grabbing onto her tail, and that person let her go with a yelp of bubbles escaping from her mouth. Natsumi swam away as fast as she could._**

**_Utau appeared in front of her again and grabbed the eel by the neck. Again Natsumi shocked the girl, and the assassin had to let go. Another clone grabbed her, and Natsumi sent a charge of electricity into the hand, but it didn't work. Instead of that, the eel sank its razor-sharp teeth into the Mist ninja's hand. Utau let go, cursing. Natsumi quickly swam up to the surface and became a human. She used her chakra to climb onto the surface of the water and pulled out several kunai, ready to fight Utau._**

**_"Damn you!" came the assassin's voice. The woman appeared with her sword pulled out. She swung at Natsumi, who blocked the blade with two kunais clamping down on it. She flipped the sword away, disarming Utau from her best weapon. Natsumi then sweep-kicked the assassin, and she fell onto her back. The Niikyo pulled out her own katana and held the blade up to Utau's throat._**

**_"Give up on me Utau," Natsumi said. "I know your moves now."_**

**_The black haired woman chuckled, and then she disappeared into the water. Natsumi cursed herself and got ready to fight again. Suddenly, the watter shook, and a large sea serpent emerged from the water. It roared, and Natsumi was surprised. Utau stood on the top of the serpent's head. "I always have moves up my sleeve," Utau said. The serpent roared again, and it lunged at Natsumi. The redhead was grabbed by the waist and yanked to the side and into the air as the giant water creature bit into the water. Natsumi landed on the water's surface again, and she looked at who had saved her._**

**_"Sasuke!" she gasped. The Uchiha had his Sharingan activated, and he was glaring at Utau._**

**_"Well, well," Utau said. "Look who came to play. I was hoping that you would come in soon, to be honest. I was defeating her so easily that I have been getting bored. And now this is going to be fun, because I got two targets that are linked to each other." She laughed, and then the sea serpent sprayed a river of water at the two Leaf ninja. Natsumi quickly water-bended to divert the water's path and succeeded. Once the the last of the water was moved from their vision, the serpent's head struck at them._**

**_"Move!" Sasuke said. He pushed Natsumi aside and jumped the other way. The serpent missed, and it picked its head up a few feet above the water and roared at Sasuke. Utau appeared behind Natsumi and grabbed her and put a kunai to her throat. "Natsumi!" the Uchiha called._**

**_Natsumi waited calmly for a second, and then she turned her head and bit Utau's hand. Utau yelped and let go. The Niikyo ducked away and pulled out her katana again and stabbed her in the shoulder and pinned her into and ice wall she created. Utau tried to pull the sword out of her chest, but it wouldn't move. She then noticed the talisman on the hilt of the katana. The assassin glared at the redhead, who had stepped aside to let Sasuke stand before her. "Here you go," she said._**

**_Sasuke stared into Utau's grey brown eyes with his Sharingan, and the assassin suddenly felt a painful stab into her gut, and then a cut onto her side. She gritted her teeth in pain but did not scream and make the Uchiha satisfied. The Uchiha smirked, and then his Sharingan changed. Utau was pulled into a different world, and time seemed to move slower. Sasuke stood before her, and then the assassin felt more pain, even more than the last time. This time she yelped in pain._**

**_"You better stay away from Natsumi," Sasuke said. "If you hurt her again, I'll kill you." The Uchiha turned away, and Utau was back pinned to the ice wall. _**

**_The assassin cursed, and she made a hand-sign. Utau vanished into the mist, and everything went black._**

Sasuke opened his eyes, and he stared at Natsumi, who was still asleep. He saw a small smile on her lips, and that made him smile as well. The Uchiha was impressed with how Natsumi fought in the dream. He leaned over and kissed her on her forehead. The Niikyo smiled in her sleep, and she curled up a little bit. Sasuke pulled the covers over her again, and then he lied down next to her. He was now tired from using the Mangekyo, and so he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It was around noon when Natsumi woke up. She yawned, stretched, and looked at the clock. Her eyes widened at the time display. The Niikyo quickly got out of bed, out of the bedroom, down the hallway, and down the stairs. Sasuke was sitting on the living room couch and looked up when he heard someone step into the room. He smirked. "Good afternoon," he said.

"I can't believe I slept that long," Natsumi answered.

"Well you didn't sleep for more than a week, so I expected you to be out a whole day."

"Very funny." Natsumi sat down across from him and asked, "What do you wanna do today?"

"We can train if you want." Sasuke thought that they should and should not -- Natsumi needed to be ready for Utau, but she was still very tired. Then again, wouldn't that make her even better in attentiveness? He was stuck on the decision on that.

"How about we go see your team and hang out with them?" the Niikyo suggested. "I haven't seen them in forever, and how long has it been for you?"

"A while..." he answered.

"Alright then, that's what we'll do." Natsumi went back upstairs to get into better clothes and then headed for the front door. She walked outside, and Sasuke followed. The two headed over to the ramen shop, knowing that Naruto is always there sometime in the day. When the shop came into view, the two couldn't see who was inside.

Naruto was just leaving the ramen shop when he saw two people out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head to get a good look, and when his guess was confirmed he grinned. The boy got up and stepped out of the ramen shop. He waved and shouted, "Natsumi! Sasuke! Hey!"

"Naruto!!" Natsumi shouted back. She ran over to the blonde and glomped him, nearly knocking him over. "I missed you! It's been forever huh?"

"Yeah! I'm so glad that I saw you." Naruto hugged the redhead. "You have awesome timing, I was heading over to a small get-together of the Rookie Nine. You wanna come?"

"Naruto, I'm not part of the Rookie Nine remember?"

"So? Neji, Lee, and Tenten are going. You're still a good friend of ours, and they really miss you."

Natsumi thought about it for a moment. "Well why not? I'll go."

"Awesome!" Naruto said. He looked over at his teammate. "How about you Sasuke? Are you coming?"

"Don't I always get dragged there anyway?" the Uchiha asked.

"Good point, then let's go!" Naruto grabbed Natsumi by the wrist and pulled her toward the meeting spot. In the end Natsumi ended up dragging Naruto along as they made their way to the training area where they were going to meet up with their friends. Once the grassy field was in view, the two raced each other, and Sasuke walked behind them, watching.

There were already several people at the meeting spot already. Natsumi sped over to the blanket where two girls were sitting. "Hey!!" Natsumi called. There was a series of delighted squeals and giggles as the Niikyo hugged a light blond and a dark haired girl. Sasuke recognized them as Ino Yamanaka and Hinata Hyuuga. As he got closer to the group, he could hear their conversation:

"I'm so glad that you could make it!" Ino squealed. "How are you Natsumi?"

"Good, good. How about you, losing some weight?"

"Yes! Thanks for noticing."

"Hello Natsumi-san..."

"Hey Hinata! Nice outfit, and is that a new haircut?"

"Y-yes."

"I love it!! It looks so cute on you!"

"Arigato, Natsumi-san."

Natsumi smiled and spotted another girl with her brown hair into two buns. "Tenten!!" Natsumi hugged the young woman. "How are you?"

"I'm good," she replied.

"Hey Neji, Lee."

The two boys looked at Natsumi and greeted her. Neji remained calm and formal while Lee was his energetic self and greeted her with pure enthusiasm. There was a loud bark from behind, and the Niikyo turned around to see a large white dog and his owner. She smiled at the two companions. The dog wagged his tail and barked again.

"Hey Kiba, Akamaru," she said. She walked up to the dog and scratched behind his ears and hugged him. She then stood up and hugged Kiba.

"Hey Nat," Kiba said. "You finally show up after two to three months, what happened?"

"I had missions and then I had to stay with my wolf pack," she answered.

"I see. Well, we started to think about the possibility that you died."

"Are you serious Kiba?"

Kiba grinned. "In a way, yes. Still, it's good to see you again." Natsumi nodded. She then spotted someone coming from behind Sasuke. She smiled.

"Sakura!!" Natsumi shouted. She ran past the Uchiha and toward the pinkette. She tackle hugged Sakura, and the pinkette steadied herself and hugged back.

"Hey Natsumi," Sakura said. The redhead heard the sad tone in her voice and looked at the girl's face.

"Are you okay?" she asked. Sakura smiled in reassurance.

"I'm fine." She then looked at Sasuke, who was staring at her with his onyx eyes. "Hey, Sasuke-kun."

"Hey..." he replied.

Natsumi stared at the two, and then she said, "Come on everyone let's start some games!" So for the next hour or so, the teenagers played games like target challenges, racing, and scavenger hunting. There was even a game where you had to find the real Naruto among his Shadow Clones, and there was a game where you had to find Natsumi and then catch her. Everyone had their laughs during the games as well as their victories. After a while they all took a break and sat down on the blanket to eat their lunches. Natsumi was brushing her hair whie everyone ate. Kiba apologized once again for Akamaru trapping her (as a ferret) inside his mouth. Natsumi had laughed and forgiven him for the third time. Akamaru wagged his tail once and gladly accepted a piece of cooked meat from Natsumi.

"So, are there any couples among us?" Natsumi asked.

There was a silence, but there was also a sly move by Tenten. She had held Neji's hand and leaned against him. Hinata did the same with Naruto. Their gestures were enough, and Natsumi smiled.

"Okay, that's fine."

"How about you Nat?" asked Kiba. "Got hitched yet?"

"Nope," she answered. The Niikyo took a quick glance at Sasuke and then back at Kiba. "How about you Kiba? Got someone in mind?"

"Yeah," he answered with a grin. Hinata looked at her watch.

"We have to do a mission," she said. "Kiba, we have to go meet Shino now."

The boy sighed, "Alright. Let's get going." He stood up, and so did Akamaru. "I'll see you all later." Hinata hugged Naruto good-bye, and Akamaru nudged Natsumi, who returned the gesture with a hug. Kiba lingered behind Hinata to turn around and take a last look at Natsumi before running off with Akamaru and his teammate.

"Kiba likes you," Tenten addressed Natsumi.

"Obviously," Ino and Sakura added.

Natsumi nodded. "He probably likes me because I can understand dogs like he does. It levels out the playing field."

"He missed you," Naruto said. "He got bored without you."

"Well it's nice to know that someone missed me." Natsumi looked around at the little picnic area. "I'm sorry guys, but I have to get going."

"Aw, why?" Ino whined.

"I have errands to run, and I have to talk to the Hokage in a little bit. You know how she handles tardiness."

Everyone flinched -- Neji's was more of a tiny twitch, as was Sasuke's -- and they all laughed. "Okay," Sakura said. "Well I have to drop off some papers to Tsunade-sama anyway. Mind if I accompany you?"

"Not at all," Natsumi replied. the two girls stood up, and Sakura slung a bag over her shoulder. They said good-bye to everyone else and started toward the Hokage's office. A few minutes later, a messenger hawk swooped down upon the teens that were still picnicking and hopped over to Sasuke. He took the note that was tied to its leg and read it.

"I have to go," he said. He got up from his spot under a tree and walked away. The remaining people watched the Uchiha leave, and Ino flopped back onto the picnic blanket.

"Man, everyone's got things to do today," Ino sighed. "Why am I the only one to not receive a mission?"

"Hey, I haven't gotten a mission in a while either," Naruto said.

"Same here," Tenten said.

"I got the day off," Neji said.

"As do I," said Lee. The five (Neji was excluded) sighed and started to watch the clouds roll by.

"Great," Naruto commented. "Shikamaru is rubbing off of us." Only Tenten and Lee laughed normally -- Ino made a sarcastic laugh that was more like a huff, and Neji made a poorly amused single laugh. "Worth a shot."

Lee then said, "Has anyone noticed that Sasuke was rather...unusual today?" His question attracted the attention of the five people surrounding him.

"What do you mean Lee?" Ino asked.

"I mean that he seemed a bit more distant."

"No duh Lee," Naruto said, "Sakura was here when he was, remember?"

The boy nodded. "But there was another thing different. He seemed a bit too alert, wary...kind of over observant of the surroundings."

"I agree with that," Neji said. "He certainly did look more anxious."

"Hm, I wonder why?" Naruto said.

"Don't even try," Ino said. "He's still difficult to understand."

Tenten commented, "True, but Natsumi seems to get him just fine." The girl stared at the large fluffy cloud move sluggishly across the bright blue sky. "You know, those two look rather cute together."

"They argue so much though," Ino protested.

"Boys tend to do that when they care."

"Hm, maybe...but you are right Tenten, they do look cute together."

Naruto laughed, "I'd love to see Sasuke try to ask Natsumi out. I would even pay to see it."

Lee laughed as well. "I agree Naruto-san; it would be interesting to watch," he said.

"Well," Tenten said, "It might happen. We'll see." The remaining teens of the picnic stared at the sky again, letting time flow by, not caring about its leaving.

~At the Hokage's Office~

Natsumi had already headed home, and Sakura was helping Tsunade file her papers. The woman signed approvals or denials and passed them to her apprentice, who sorted them into piles. After putting the papers into certain categories, she paper-clipped them together and placed them inside a folder. The folders were then labeled and piled on the corner of the Hokage's desk, where the pile kept growing and growing with every new file and/or folder. There was a knock at the door, and the Hokage granted the entry. The door opened and Sasuke Uchiha walked in. Sakura ignored him and continued filing papers, keeping herself occupied. "You called for me, Hokage-sama?" Sasuke asked, also ignoring the pinkette as she filed papers.

"Yes," Tsunade said. She then looked over at her apprentice. "Sakura, could you get me some tea? It would help my headache."

"Of course Shishou," Sakura replied. She stopped her filing and walked toward the door. She paused for a brief moment to greet Sasuke, who greeted back with the same quickness. After doing that courteous gesture, Sakura left the room. She quickly prepared a mug of tea and started walking back toward the office. As she was about to open the door, she heard the word "assassin" be spoken in the conversation just beyond the door. She paused by the door and waited, listening to the discussion between Tsunade and Sasuke.

"Did the ANBU capture Utau yet?" Sasuke asked.

"They have spotted her, but she managed to get away."

"So you are sending them after her right?"

"Yes, the ANBU will track her down, they don't think that she got that far. Surely she hasn't left the village area yet."

"Do you think that she's going to give up on Natsumi anytime soon?"

"...No, I'm afraid not. The ANBU are searching the entire village for her, making sure that Utau is nowhere near Natsumi or the innocents." Sakura heard a pause.

_Tsunade is probably writing something down_Sakura thought. She continued to listen to through the door.

"Natsumi's location is farther from the village itself, and the forests that surround her home makes it more liable for Utau to hide in and strike from. I will try to find a vacancy in the village to bring her in until we find the assassin."

Sasuke did not answer quickly, and Sakura leaned toward the door in case he was mumbling something. His reply: "Hn."

_Of course..._

"Make sure you keep an eye on Natsumi, Sasuke."

"Hai."

"Dismissed."

Sakura took several steps back from the door to make it look like she just arrived. The door to the Hokage's office, and Sasuke stepped out into the hallway. He took one look at the pinkette and walked away toward the exit of the building. Sakura then walked into the office and approached the Hokage's desk. Her mentor smiled and took the steaming cup of tea while thanking her apprentice. Sakura resumed filing the papers while Tsunade took a sip of her tea.

"If you have other things to do you may go," Tsunade said.

"I don't have anything to do," Sakura replied. Tsunade nodded and took another sip from her warm cup of jasmine tea. Sakura continued filing, and as she did so, she tried to decide whether to ask the woman about Natsumi. After a few minutes she said, "The Rookie Nine had a small picnic earlier."

Tsunade glanced at the pink haired kunoichi. "Did you go?" she asked.

"Yeah, and Natsumi too."

"That's good."

Sakura then commented in a medic's matter-of-fact tone. "She looked like she hadn't had a good night of sleep. What do you think of that Shishou?" The kunoichi watched her mentor's careful expression, like she was debating on something.

"She's been having sleep deprivation for a while," the HOkage replied.

"Is it serious?"

"...Somewhat." Tsunade took a sip of her tea. "It is all because of a genjutsu."

"Genjutsu?" Sakura asked. "How long has this been going on?"

"A bit over a week."

"A week? She must be very tired then." Tsunade nodded and held the steaming cup to her lips. As she drank some more tea, Sakura asked, "Is there any way that I can help?"

"Are you comfortable with being in the same room as Sasuke Uchiha?" Tsunade asked.

Confused by the question, she answered after a moment's thought. "I guess," she said. "I won't die or anything."

"Good, because he will be at Natsumi's house watching over her to see how much sleep she is getting."

"Alright. I'll go there later tonight. Thank you, Hokage-sama."

"Sure thing." The woman smiled at Sakura, and then the two resumed filing the paperwork.

* * *

Sorry I took so long. I had testing and finals and cleaning to do. School is winding down (6 days left YEAH!), and I will be able to update better soon, I hope. If I get more reviews on this story I would remember to update and will do so faster.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Review please!

~RedWolf210


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry that I took so long to put up this chapter. I was busy and too focused on my newest fanfic. Thanks to those who are sticking to this story and added this to their alerts. Hopefully I will make the fourth chapter faster than this one.

Chapter 3

Enjoy!

* * *

Sasuke was sitting in the living room when a knock came at the door. He got up and answered it, seeing Sakura standing on the porch. "Hey..." Sasuke said.

"Hey," Sakura said. "Tsunade sent me to check on Natsumi."

"Ah." The Uchiha opened the door wider and let the pinkette inside the house. As he closed the door, he said, "She's asleep right now."

As if on cue, there was a faint "Ow!" from upstairs. Sasuke and Sakura ran up the stairs and to Natsumi's room. When they entered the room, Natsumi had her hand up to her left cheek. She did not notice them for a minute, but then the Niikyo looked up and saw Sakura and Sasuke. The pinkette took a step forward.

"What happened?" she asked.

"I got cut," Natsumi replied. She put her hand down from her cheek, and there was a long horizontal cut on her cheek. She watched Sakura as she walked over to her and sat down on the bed with her. Sakura checked the cut for any poisons.

"So Utau is using stronger genjutsu?" the medic asked.

Natsumi nodded. "I believe so."

"When did this start?"

"Just last night."

"Alright. How much sleep have you gotten?"

"The total sleep I have gotten this whole week is about seven hours."

"I see..." Sakura took out a band-aid and put it on the Natsumi's cut, and then patted her on the shoulder. "Try getting some more sleep Nat." Natsumi nodded and lied back down in her bed and closed her eyes. Sakura got up and walked over to Sasuke. She noticed that Sasuke was staring at the sleeping girl's face, and then realized that he was specifically looking at the cut on Natsumi's cheek. Sakura thought about that for a moment, and then she waved him out of the room. She closed the door and faced the Uchiha. "Have you tried using the Sharingan on Natsumi to help with the genjutsu assults?"

The boy nodded. "Yes; I used it last night and managed to get Utau away for the rest of that night."

"Okay. Has she had any breakdowns lately?"

"A few days ago."

"Did she try to harm herself or you during the breakdown?"

"No."

Sakura nodded. "Alright. Keep doing what you are doing, and I'll check on Natsumi's mind before I leave." When Sasuke nodded, she walked into the room again.

Sasuke waited outside, and when the pinkette returned he stared at her, waiting for an answer. "How is she?" he prompted.

"She's mostly alright, but her mind is a bit stressed," Sakura replied. She noticed the look in Sasuke's eyes -- they were different. His onyx eyes were staring at the door to Natsumi's room, and Sakuras jade eyes observed his facial expressions. He was worried, and he wasn't hiding it. Finally Sakura asked him, "Do you really care about Natsumi?"

Sasuke's gaze turned to her, and after a minute of silence he gave his teammate a small nod.

"Well that's good. Take care of her, Sasuke. Tsunade trusts you with this, don't let her down."

"I won't," Sasuke answered.

Sakura nodded. "Good night, Sasuke-kun." Sakura turned toward the stairs and walked away. Sasuke stared after her, and when the sound of the door reached his ears, he went downstairs and locked the door as well as all the other possible enteries. Once that was done the Uchiha walked back upstairs to check on Natsumi. He quietly opened the door and peeked inside. When he saw that Natsumi was awake and sitting up, he walked into the bedroom.

"Did you have a nightmare while I was gone?" he asked.

Natsumi shook her head slowly. "Utau has killed ten of my wolf pack...It's all my fault..." She hugged herself and looked down at her sheets, tears falling.

"It's not your fault."

"Yes it is! _Half_ of my wolf pack is _dead_ Sasuke! Utau wouldn't kill them if I show myself, but I have to be selfish and protect my own life, not caring about theirs..." Natsumi's shoulders shook as she sobbed.

Sasuke walked over to her and sat beside her. "Natsumi, you are not selfish. You're caring about their deaths, that's why you are crying. Plus it is natural that you want to save your own life, that is what everyone does." The Uchiha hugged Natsumi and held her in his arms while she cried. "Think about it Nat, your pack is only dying to _protect you_. To them their death to protect you is an honor."

"I don't deserve that kind of sacrifice!" Natsumi cried. "They're _dead_ Sasuke! They can't come back! That pack was all that I had left of my family, and now they're dying all over again.... Maybe I should give in to Utau...let her kill me."

Sasuke tightened his arms around her. "I can't let you do that Natsumi," he said. "If you die by her hand, then your pack's death will be in vain. They are dying to make sure that you don't. Do not let Utau get to you Natsumi, please."

Natsumi continued to cry, and Sasuke kept his arms around her. Her sobbing became quieter, and her tears were slowing. The Niikyo had cried herself back to sleep, and Sasuke did not move. Once he knew for sure that she was alseep, he looked down at her face. She looked so peaceful, so content in his arms. The boy held her close and gently rested his chin on the top of her head. Natsumi stirred a little in her sleep and repositioned herself while Sasuke loosened his grip. She opened her eyes a crack and stared at the glass doors that led to her blacony.

"I'm sorry that you got caught up into this mess," she murmured.

"Why? The way I see it, I would get caught up in this either way."

"How so?"

"If I did leave before you got back and had not heard of your nightmares then, the word still would have reached the Hokage, and then I would be sent here to watch over you."

Natsumi thought about that. "What exactly are you keeping an eye out for anyway?" she asked.

"Major injuries, mental breakdowns...stuff like that."

"I see..."

"Are you okay Nat?"

She did not respond.

"Natsumi?"

Nothing. Sasuke turned his head to look at her face. The girl was staring into space, her eyes wide. A small tear fell from her eye. After another minute of silence, Natsumi closed her eyes and curled into Sasuke's chest.

"Natsumi, what's wrong?" Sasuke asked.

"I saw you fight Utau..." she said quietly, not looking at him. The Niikyo hugged him. "I don't want to lose you, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke hugged her back. "You won't lose me, I promise."

"The way you fought in the vision...Do you really care that much about me?" She felt the boy tense a little.

"Yes," he replied. "Did I not say that I really cared about you?"

"You did say so. You're really confusing, you know that?"

"Hn."

The girl groaned a little. "There we go again -- shutting out your feelings. You'd probably ditch me if it weren't for your being human and having emotions."

_And here we go with her bipolar attitude_ Sasuke thought.

**She wouldn't be bipolar if you actually admitted that you like her. I swear your ignorance is going to be the death of her.**

_And then _you_ show up._

**Yes, and like I said....TELL HER you LOVE HER already!**

_She's got enough to think about._

**If you tell her, then her mind will be somewhat at ease; one less thing to worry about.**

_I'm just going to ignore you._

**Hey!**

Sasuke did what he said and ingored his "conscience's" yelling and nagging. When he heard Natsumi call his name, he replied "What?" in an annoyed tone. Natsumi frowned, and Sasuke had just realized the tone he had used.

"Nevermind," Natsumi said bitterly, "you're too annoyed to listen. If you are so annoyed by me then what's stopping you from getting out of my room?" She squirmed in his arms and was mumbling, "Confusing me with your bipolar attitude....jerk..."

Instead of arguing, Sasuke sighed and get out of Natsumi's bed. He walked toward the door, and Natsumi watched silently as he left her bedroom. Once he was gone, Natsumi pulled her legs in to her chest and rested her chin on her knees and stared at the door. _Why does he have to keep doing that?_ she wondered.

**He cares** Natsumi's Inner replied. **But he's shy about it.**

_Doubt that he is shy. I could believe that he cares, but I think that he doesn't want to deal with me._

Her Inner sighed. **We'll talk about it later; go get some sleep.** Natsumi concurred and lied back down on her side, closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Utau was watching the scene that unfolded between Sasuke and Natsumi. She chuckled darkly. "I think I should finish this, ptherwise the foxes will be after me as well as her." She moved to where she could see the Uchiha sitting on the living room couch. Utau jumped out of the tree and stood out in the open inside of the garden. Sasuke spotted her, and he glared at her. Utau mouthed, "Catch me if you can," and ran off into the forest. Sasuke gritted his teeth and walked out of the house, locked the door, and ran after the Mist ninja. He finally caught up with, and she was standing several yards away from him. He put his hand on his katana.

"Utau," he growled.

"Hello Sasuke Uchiha," Utau replied. "Got into a fight back there with my client?"

"No."

"How come you hide your feelings? She really does care about you." The girl made a fake frown. "Why would you have Natsumi go insane on the idea that you love her than telling her the truth?" She then laughed, "Honestly, I think what _you're_ doing to her is a lot _worse_ than what _I'm_ doing to her."

"Shut up!" Sasuke snapped.

"Make me."

Sasuke pulled out his katana and ran at the assassin. Utau pulled out her short sword and blocked his attack. She moved to the side, freed her sword and slashed the Uchiha in the side in a fluid motion. Sasuke winced and spun around to cut at the assassin's back. His katana barely nicked her between the shoulder blades, and she jumped out of the way. Utau made a hand-sign, and water came up from the ground and solidified into large ice shards. The Mist ninja sent the shards after Sasuke, and he quickly made hand-signs of his own and used his Fireball Jutsu to melt the majority of the ice. Some of the shards did not melt, and Sasuke jumped into the air to dodge those. Utau appeared in front of him and slammed him down on the ground. While he was down, Utau pinned him in place with several large senbon. She stood before him, grinning evilly.

She pulled out her short sword again and said, "As soon as I get you out of the way, I can get Natsumi with no hassle. She'll be so devastated about your death and all that she'll be happy to let me kill her." She raised her blade, and before she brought it down, there was a snarl. A large silver wolf tackled Utau, knocking her over.

The wolf growled at the assassin's face, and then she barked. Two wolves ran out from the shadows and took the senbon in their jaws and pulled the needles out of Sasuke. Once all four were taken out, Sasuke sat up and stared at the wolf pinning Utau down.

"Go ahead, rip my throat out," Utau said.

The wolf growled even lower. Some other noise caught her attention, and a huge wolf tackled Natsumi off of Utau. Natsumi yelped and was pinned down.

"Natsumi!" Sasuke shouted. Several more large dogs appeared and attacked the wolves from Natsumi's wolf pack. A white fox about a foot tall trotted over to Utau.

"I had it all under control," Utau muttered.

"Sure you did," the fox said. "The boss had changed his mind; he wants the girl alive."

"And the boy?"

"Kill him, do whatever, but he is not going to come with us." The fox spoke lower. "I say kill him though; we do not want any trouble from the ninjas." Utau nodded, and then the fox added, "I'll bring the girl to the boss." Before Utau had a say in the matter the fox barked at the wolf that held Natsumi down, and it grabbed the silver wolf by the scuff and carried her toward the fox. The sleek wolf whined and stuggled against the large, muscular wolf.

A black wolf launched itself from the shadows and pounced on the bruly grey wolf. The wolf dropped Natsumi, who turned back into a human. She then shot fire at the fox and the other large wolf. Both flew back and rolled to put on the fire that singed their fur. Natsumi and the black wolf, Amaroq, ran over to Sasuke.

"Not so fast!" the fox growled. He barked, and an almost blue furred owlf ran out and rammed Natsumi. The girl flipped and rolled out of the way of the large wolf. She managed to get up and turn into a large tiger. She attacked the wolf, slashing its gut and face with her claws. While that wolf was down Natsumi attacked the last remaining wolf minion of the fox. The tiger roared, but then she became abruptly quiet. Natsumi collapsed and became human again.

Utau stood up and smirked, a babmoo chute being lowered from her lips. "That should keep her down for a while," she said. She walked over to the unconscious kunoichi and picked her up.

Sasuke tried to stand up, but his limbs were numb. He expected it to be so, but he needed to stand and struggled with his unresponsive limbs, cursing under his breath as he did so. Amaroq snarled and launched himself at the assassin, but she easily kicked him in the side. He was thrown off course and fell onto the forest floor with a hard thud. Utau smirked.

"Don't bother following, unless you want to be killed," the fox said. Utau nodded in agreement, and the fox howled. Two large wolf minions stepped out of the shadows and stood beside Utau, who carried Natsumi, as she started to run away. The fox stalked after her, and they all disappeared into the darkness of the forest.

"Natsumi!" Sasuke shouted. He looked over at the black wolf, who was about to run after them. "Amaroq, don't fight them, just track them as far as you can. Then you head back here so you could take us there."

The wolf nodded and ran off into the underbrush. The Uchiha tried to stand, but he failed. There was a rustle in the bushes, and he froze. To his surprise, Hinata walked into view. She saw Sasuke's injuries and ran over to him. "Sasuke-kun! What happened?" she asked.

"Utau Kizume captured Natsumi," he answered. "We need to track them down." Hinata kneeled down to check his wounds.

"We're going to take you to the hospital first."

"No time! Just take me to Tsunade, she'll heal me while I explain it to her."

Hinata nodded and lifted Sasuke's right arm to place over her shoulders. The both stood up, and then they made their way to the Hokage's office as fast as they could.

* * *

Review please! Need to be reminded on continuing this story. See you all later!

Oh yeah, if you want a say in what I write -- as in new couples and such -- then go to my profile and take the POLL that's there. Thanks again.

~RedWolf210


	4. Chapter 4

Hey here's Chapter 4. Please review because I tend to forget about my fanfics more nowadays.

ENJOY!

* * *

"We're going to need a tracker on the team," Sasuke said as Tsunade finished healing his leg.

"Of course. Hinata, is Kiba still here?"

Hinata nodded. "He's supposed to be on a break," she said.

"Alright," Tsunade said. "Go get him. I'd hate to make him work while he's on his vacation, but tell him that this is urgent. You will need either Sakura or Ino as well." She added, "And expect Naruto to be in the deal, you too Hinata."

"Hai!" The Hyuuga ran out of the office. The Fifth Hokage looked at the Uchiha again.

"So you sent Amaroq after them?" she asked.

"He'll be back soon to tell us all he knows."

The woman nodded. "Okay, so you went after Utau first and got caught, and then Natsumi came to save you and ended up getting captured like they planned?"

"Hai."

"Alright then, we'll have to wait here for the others."

Fifteen minutes passed, and Sasuke was worrying about how they might have left sooner if they hurried and were able to get Natsumi back faster. As he was worrying, Sakura, Naruto, Kiba, and Hinata entered the Hokage's office. "Why did they take Natsumi?" Naruto asked.

"We don't know Naruto," Tsunade replied. "But all of you are going to find her and get her back. Are you up to it?"

"Hai!" said all five ninja.

"Very good. Dismissed." The five left the room, and the Hokage listened to the diminishing sound of footsteps running down the hallway. "Good luck," she said.

Outside the Hokage's building, the five teens saw Akamaru, Kiba's dog, standing next to a large black wolf that was about his size, maybe even slightly larger. Sasuke sped up and stopped by Amaroq. He looked at Kiba. "Amaroq has been tracking them while we were being gathered. He'll tell you all he knows."

Kiba nodded and kneeled by Akamaru and asked, "Did the wolf say anything to you?" Akamaru barked and explained all the Amaroq had said to his master. Once the dog finished Kiba nodded in understanding. He stood up and said, "They ran in the direction of the Hidden Mist. We're going to have to hurry and be careful; Utau had set up several traps. Amaroq wants to lead us."

"Okay, then let's get started," Naruto said. All five (six including Akamaru) followed the black wolf out of the village and toward the Hidden Mist.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Natsumi woke up to the sound of a metal door creaking shut. She sat up and looked around. The Niikyo then realized that she was in a steel cage. Carefully, she stood up and walked toward the bars. There was a blue spark, and Natsumi jumped back before a stream of electricity hit her. She looked around the room again. It was dark and empty, no source of light or furniture of any sort whatsoever. The girl sat cross-legged in the middle of her cage and crossed her arms. She needed to figure out how to escape, and so she put her hands together, took a deep breath and began to meditate.

An hour or so had passed, and the sound of someone's footsteps entered the dark room. Natsumi did not look, ignoring the guest and continuing her meditation. "You won't find a way out of there," said a man's voice.

Natsumi stopped meditating and looked at the dark outline of the man. "I will find a way, you can be sure of that," she answered.

"The electricity will keep you for quite sometime. The only way out is by agreeing with my request."

"And that request is...?"

"To work for me in assassination. You are the best when it comes to undercover works and stealth. Your ability to shapeshift is your best quality, and along with your ability to control certain elements, you are never empty handed in battle.

"You're only wasting your time working in Konoha. Why not join the big leagues, play the more exciting games of live and die? Catching the corrupt leaders of huge organizations and gangs and torture those who did wrong?"

"I am not a blood-thristy killer," Natsumi replied. "And your meaning and my meaning of 'wrong' are different."

The man chuckled, "You may be right, but I think your views would change once you see my side."

"I doubt that."

"You see, my example of targets are traitors, thieves, and murderers. Everyone hates them, and I kill the worst of them all. If I am correct, you do the same thing in Konoha?"

"Yes," but I think those traitors turned on you, the thieves stole from you, and the murders killed someone you cared about. Your justice is just revenge." She stared intently at the man, who casually paced back and forth before her cage.

"That may be true, it may not," he said. "Look, either you do this willingly or by force."

"I won't go by choice, and I will kill you if you try to make me."

"Oh really? I have ways to make you listen." The man snapped his fingers, and something cold clamped around Natsumi's neck. She grabbed the metal collar and pulled on it. The collar glowed red, and it shocked the Niikyo. She yelped in pain and fell to her knees. She glared at the silhouette.

"What the hell is this?!" she demanded.

"Obviously a type of obedience collar, but this one has a few more features." The man snapped his fingers again, and, with a shock of electricity, Natsumi turned into a wolf. "I can control your shapeshifting, and don't worry about the fashion, the collar changes to blend in too," he added with a smirk.

Natsumi growled at the man. "You still cannot control who I kill," she snarled.

"Not exactly my dear," the man said. "I can give you the target, and you will gladly kill them without question."

"I can fight it."

"We'll see Natsumi, we'll see." The man snapped his fingers. There was a zap from the collar, and Natsumi's howl of pain turned into a roar. She was now a tiger, and she was filled with spite. She charged at the shadow of a man, and a seal on the cage shocked her when she was within three feet of the bars. Natsumi ignored it and swiped at the man through the bars and the static. The man's head turned at the impact.

He touched his left cheek and felt the warm blood oozing out of the gashes. He looked at the Niikyo's hard, murderous gaze. "Excellent," he said. "I'll be back later to see how you cope." The man turned around and disappeared into the shadows.

Natsumi growled to the darkness, then she paced within the confinement of her cage. Evey once in a while the tiger tackled the shocking bars of the cage, ignoring the pain and hoping that it will short circuit the collar. With no luck, Natsumi walked over to the middle of the cage and lied down on her side. She tried to change back into a human, but the collar only shocked her. Sighing, Natsumi closed her eyes and tried to meditate again.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Amaroq led the Konoha retrieval team safely past the traps he saw and stopped them by a large tree with a twisted trunk. "This is as far as he searched," Kiba said. "Akamaru and I will take it from here." All five looked at the regal black wolf, who stared back at them with a determined gaze. His golden eyes focused on Sasuke who gave a small nod. Akamaru barked a farewell, and Amaroq nodded to him and the others. He turned and dashed back to the village, howling a tune that somehow felt like an encouraging speech to Naruto and the others. Akamaru began to sniff the ground, and when he found Natsumi's trail he dashed after it. Everyone else followed his lead.

"What do you think they want with Natsumi?" Hinata asked the group. "If Utau was sent to kill her, why did they take her alive?"

"I don't know," Naruto said.

"Me neither," Sakura answered.

"Natsumi could have information that they want," Kiba suggested.

"They could be after her kekke-genkai," Sasuke said. everyone thought about that as they ran with Kiba and Akamaru.

"That just may be it," Sakura finally said.

"Come on guys, hurry up," Kiba said. He sped up, and everyone followed. No one spoke the following hour of running. Akamaru stopped in a small clearing and sniffed around. Kiba, Hinata, Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke stopped and watched as the hound searched the area.

"What's up with Akamaru?" Naruto asked.

"Natsumi's scent has been somewhat covered," Kiba answered.

"Could you still track her?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah, hopefully the scent doesn't vanish." Kiba started sniffing along with Akamaru, and once they found the trail again the group continued to follow Kiba and Akamaru. As they ran, Naruto kept pace with Hinata, and the two slowed down to talk to Sakura.

"Hey Sakura," Naruto whispered.

The pink haired kunoichi glanced at him. "What is it Naruto?" she asked.

"Is it just me, or is Sasuke worrying over something?" He looked ahead at the back of the Uchiha, and Sakura followed his gaze. The girl observed the Uchiha's posture and steps.

"Huh, I think you're right. He's trying to hurry, but he needs directions, which only Kiba and Akamaru know."

Naruto laughed quietly, "I never thought that I would see him get worked up over this situation like that." Hinata looked at Sasuke and then back at Naruto.

"He cares for her," Hinata said.

"I know, and I suppose he has a little competition going on."

Sakura looked ahead again and watched as Kiba started to talk to Sasuke. _He's probably telling Sasuke to back off while he's working_ she thought.

Kiba had noticed that Sasuke was almost running ahead of him. After a minute he asked, "A bit in a hurry there, Sasuke?"

"Hn," the Uchiha replied.

"You really want to get Nat out of there huh?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Because I want to too." The boy looked ahead. "I hope that the bastards who took Natsumi didn't do anything to her."

"Hn."

Kiba took a quick glance at Sasuke, and then looked ahead again. "She's a really nice person, and an animal lover too. Hey, didn't you notice how depressed she was at the picnic?"

Sasuke raised his eyebrow slightly. "Depressed?"

"Well I guess you can't _see_it. Akamaru could sense how sad she was back there, and it's got me worried. So, I plan to ask her out later, when everything is over and she's back in Konoha with us. I think that may cheer her up."

After a moment of silence Sasuke replied, "Probably."

Kiba figured that he wouldn't get anymore conversation out of Sasuke and dropped the conversation. The retrieval squad continued to track the Niikyo while the night continued on. A while later the team took a break as the sun started to come up.

"How far could they have gotten within such a short amount of time?" Naruto wondered.

"They shouldn't have made it this far," Sasuke said. "We started chasing them an hour after they left at the _most. _We should've caught up by now."

"That could only mean..." Hinata said, "that we passed them."

"But we still have a scent trail right?" Sakura asked.

Kiba suddenly clenched his teeth and growled, "Damn it! We were tricked! I was tricked..." When everyone looked at him for an elaboration, he said, "They could have, and probably did, take one of Natsumi's possessions and used it to make a false trail. That spot where Akamaru stopped, that could've been where they switched her scent."

"So if Natsumi's back there...who did we follow?"

A howl came from the bushes, and the five Leaf shinobi got into a defensive circle, their weapons drawn. Ten snow white wolves surrounded them, their teeth bared. Akamaru crouched down and growled at the wolf in front of him. One of the wolves, the largest, had a necklace around its neck, the silver pendant dangling underneath his throat. A light mist rolled in, and Sasuke tensed. "It's Utau," he growled.

"Very observant," echoed a voice. "Let's see...five people and one dog against ten wolves...I believe that will be a good show to watch." The wolves snarled and launched themselves at the ninja.

Sakura dodged the wolf that jumped at her and slammed it down with a chakra infused fist. Naruto jumped out of the wolf's way, and Hinata used her Gentle Fist to hit it back into the trees. Akamaru was wrestling with the alpha wolf who wore the necklace. Sasuke was cutting the wolves that were jumping at him, making sure they don't get up. Kiba was dodging the wolves' jaws while using his kunai to slice at them.

As they all fought the wolves, Utau watched from the trees and threw senbon at the ninja to slow them down for the wolves. Several needles struck Naruto in the leg, and he fell. Hinata ran over to him and helped him up. Utau then started to attack Sasuke. The Uchiha blocked the sendon with his katana, and then he disappeared into the mist. Utau closed her eyes, and once she opened them again she leaped out of the tree she was in and slashed the air where she used to be with her short sword as the Uchiha appeared. The boy grabbed his shoulder and cursed. The assassin flipped oto another branch and looked at the Uchiha, but he was no longer there. Utau was then pinned down by Sasuke and was staring directly into the Sharingan.

"Where is she?" he asked.

"Obviously not here," Utau replied. She did not flinch when he held the katana to her throat.

"_Where_ is she?" he repeated in a near growl.

"I'm not going to tell you; I have a deal." She quickly pointed her short sword at his chest and stabbed him. Sasuke did not flinch, but instead he laughed and disappeared. "Damn it!" Utau said. She stood up and looked around. When she looked in the direction of the wolves, all ten were lying on the ground, and Naruto was healed by Sakura and was now standing. Utau cursed and made a series of handsigns. "Water Dragon Jutsu!"

The mist collected and and rushed toward them as a large dragon. A second, opposing dragon was launched, and the tow water dragons collided. Sasuke had his Sharingan activated and made another series of handsigns and shot a large fireball at the assassin. Utau leaped out of the way and threw three kunai which then multiplied into thirty. It rained down on the five shinobi with a cloud of dust. When the cloud dissipated they were no longer there.

"Argh!" Utau cried in frustration. A white fox appeared and growled at her.

"You failed to kill them," he said.

"They have an Uchiha with them!"

"That doesn't matter! You brought down S-ranked and rogue ninja, but you can't kill a couple of brats?!" The fox snarled and started to pace before her. "The boss will not be pleased. He is very unpleased Utau, and I am too. Since you have failed, it is my duty to relieve you from duty...permanently." Three wolves jumped out of the bushes and tackled Utau to the ground. They all pinned her down and bared their teeth while the fox watched calmly.

"I'm sorry it has come to this," the fox said. "But I am just following orders."

"You're not sorry, you've wanted to do this for a while," Utau said. "And I'm sorry to say that I don't plan to be killed and betrayed in the same day." Utau kicked a wolf off and stabbed the second and third with a kunai she had held in each hand. She then made handsigns and disappeared. The fox growled.

"Find her!" he barked. Five wolves ran back down the false scent trail, following the assassin's scent specifically. The fox ran after them. _Damn that brat. She doesn't know when she's supposed to give up. The boss will be very displeased if I return without the proof that she is dead._ The canine continued to grumble to himself while listening for the wolves he sent after the assassin.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, Sasuke, Kiba, and Akamaru stopped after a while of running. They all sat, and Akamaru walked over to Sasuke and dropped the necklace that the alpha wolf was wearing into his hands. "It's Natsumi's right?" Kiba asked.

"Yeah," Sasuke replied. "She said that her mother gave it to her, and she never takes it off."

"That doesn't mean anything good if we have it," Naruto said. "How are we going to find her? We don't know where the hideout is."

"We can try searching the area where the scent went fuzzy," Sakura said. "There's bound to be clues there somewhere on where they took her."

"That sounds like a good idea," Hinata agreed.

"I doubt that they would leave clues," Kiba said.

"They could've been careless," Naruto argued.

"I could take you there," said a voice. Everyone turned to see Utau standing close by. All five pulled out a kunai while Akamaru growled.

"Why would you help us?" Sakura asked, obviously unconvinced by the assassin's kind suggestion.

"The man who ordered me to kill Natsumi has now called his hounds to kill me for my failure. So the only way you can all get the Niikyo back and I keep my head is by killing the man who started this, and I know where he is."

"How do we know that you're not just leading us into a trap?" Naruto asked.

"Well sure, he may have known that I'd do this and tighten up security, but I'm serious about helping you. I even know where they're keeping your friend." The Leaf shinobi hesitated, and then they discussed this among themselves.

"She looks like she's telling the truth," Sakura said.

"I guess if she tries anything we can set her straight," Naruto said.

"I think this is worth a shot," Kiba said.

Hinata nodded in agreement.

Sasuke looked over at Utau. "I still don't trust her, but if she can get us in, that's all that we need." The five looked at the assassin. "Fine," the Uchiha said. "We'll let you lead."

"Great," she said. "Follow me then." Utau began to run, and the five followed, Akamaru trailing behind.

* * *

That's the end of Chapter 4. I hope that you enjoyed it. Review!

Thanks,

~RedWolf210


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5. Read & Review plz.

Sorry if there are any bad errors. The spell check kept freezing my computer so I did the best I could.

* * *

Utau, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Hinata, Kiba and Akamaru soon arrived at the side of a mountain. The assassin led them into a crevice in the wall and entered a cave. "We're in," she announced. "Now, if we go this way, it should lead to Natsumi. Hopefully she's still in her cage."

"They locked her in a cage?" Kiba asked.

"It was the only way that we could contain her." Within a few minutes they all arrived at a door, and Utau opened the door and they ran inside. Utau lit a candle, and a chain of several more candles followed, lighting the whole room. The steel cage sat in the middle of the room, and when they looked into it, there was no sign of a person or animal in there. The assassin stared at the empty cage in confusion. "What the...? This is the right room."

"Where is she?" Sakura asked. Hinata activated her Byakugan and searched the area.

"There are two chakra signatures down the hallway and in a room," she reported. "One of them is Natsumi's chakra signature."

"Let's go then," Naruto said. He headed out, and everyone followed.

"But Naruto-kun," Hinata said, "it didn't look like Natsumi is in a cage or a leash. She could've ran away by now."

"Then there's something wrong." They all continued running in the direction that Hinata spoke. They soon arrived in a large room. In the center of the room was a single chair with a man sitting in it. Beside him sat a tigress, which he stroked on the top of her head slowly. Its golden eyes stared at the ninjas and assassin blankly.

"Oh-no," Utau said. "She's been taken over...that must be either a strong piece of techonolgy or she was mentally unstable, allowing it to take control."

"You were the one who made her mentally unstable," growled Sasuke. "It's your fault she's controlled."

"Could you explain on what this control will do?" Sakura asked Utau, ignoring the Uchiha's growling.

"Well, if he tells her to kill you, she'll go on a blood-thirsty rampage until you're dead. She will be filled with so much rage and hatred that she will slowly rip you to shreds, letting you feel every single slice."

Sasuke looked at the tiger, and through the dim lighting he could barely see a collar around its neck. The man seated beside her began to chuckle, "So the assassin led the enemy here hm?" He stroked the jungle cat. "Why don't you go play with them? When you're done make sure they don't live." The tiger grinned, and then it stalked over to the Konoha shinobi.

"Natsumi," Sakura said, "it's us, remember?" She and the others backed away slowly as the tiger came closer.

"I doubt that she remembers," Utau said.

"I think she'd love to kill you," Kiba said.

"Hey, who brought you here?"

"We could've found this place without your help."

Naruto ignored them and tried to talk to the tiger. "Natsumi, we know that you're in there somewhere. Don't let this evil bastard control you like some pet, a lackey, a slave! Snap out of it!"

The tiger roared and leaped at the six. Akamaru jumped at Natsumi and knocked her to the ground. The tiger turned into a large wolf and started wrestling with Akamaru. The Leaf ninja waited as the two canines tried to pin each other down. After several minutes, Natsumi managed to pin Akamaru down and prepared to bite the dog's throat and end it. Akamaru squirmed, whimpering, and Natsumi closed her mouth and hesitated.

"Kill the mutt!" the man demanded.

Natsumi didn't respond, and the man growled.

"Do it!"

A spark ignited from the collar, and the wolf yelped and jumped off of Akamaru. She shook her head and pawed at the collar. Natsumi howled and charged at the man.

"How dare you step out of line!" the man snarled. He snapped his fingers, and a bright light of electricity shocked the wolf and made it fall onto its side with a yelp. The wolf became a human, and she sat up.

"Natsumi!" Naruto shouted.

The redhead turned around and saw her friends. "You're supposed to kill them!" the man yelled. Natsumi looked at the man who was sitting a few feet away from where she was, and then she looked down at the black beaded necklace that was around her neck. She grabbed it and started to pull on it, trying to break it or yank it off. The necklace zapped her hand, but she ignored it. The man snapped his fingers once again, and the red haired kunoichi turned into a sleek black panther. "Kill them!" he ordered.

The panther was zapped, and it roared in rage and ran at the shinobi. Sakura, Naruto, Hinata, Kiba, Akamaru, and Utau ran from the wild cat. Naruto looked over his shoulder to see Sasuke following close behind. The panther's roars became louder and louder as Natsumi closed in on them. Kiba looked behind them and shouted, "Hurry up Sasuke!"

Sasuke sped up, but then he heard Natsumi's voice cry, "Wait!"

He looked over his shoulder and saw the panther. The cat ran faster and pounced on him. The Uchiha fell onto his back, knocking the wind out of him. When his vision focused, Natsumi was staring at him. The panther made a growl, but it wasn't anything menacing. Sasuke then noticed the collar that was around her neck. "Do you want me to take that off?" he asked.

The panther nodded. Natsumi made a small roar, and the collar sparked. Sasuke understood the message and grabbed onto the collar. He used Chidori on it, and the red glow from the collar faded. The panther got off him and let him stand up. Once he was on two feet, Natsumi rubbed her head against his leg.

"...You're welcome," he replied to the gesture. "Can you change back?" The panther took a few steps back and turned into her human form. Natsumi smiled at Sasuke and hugged him.

"Thanks for coming to get me," she said. "You go get the others out of here. I'll go take care of the man who was controlling me.

"I'll go with you," Sasuke said.

"No, Sasuke, I can fool him easily by myself. You need to go back to Naruto and the others, and I'll join you guys once I kill him."

"But what if he kills you?"

"He won't be able to."

"He could have a trap for you."

"Why are you trying to stop me?" she asked.

"You shouldn't do anything rash and stupid," he said.

"Stupid? I am trying to keep him off your tail! I'm trying to save our skins, and you are not going to stop me." Natsumi turned around and started to walk away.

"Natsumi, don't," he said.

The girl stopped in her tracks and whipped around to face him. "Why?! Give me one good reason why I shouldn't go." The redhead crossed her arms and waited for his answer.

After a minute of hesitation, Sasuke replied quietly, "I don't want to lose you."

Natsumi raised an eyebrow. "It looks like you have more to say..."

**Tell her now!**Sasuke's Inner said.

_Shut up._

**Dude, if you don't tell her now and she dies, then she'll never know.**

"Sasuke, are you okay?" Natsumi asked. "You look...odd."

"Hn."

She sighed, "Of course." The Niikyo turned around and resumed walking toward the room where the villan sat.

"Don't get yourself killed."

"I won't." She turned into a panther again and ran off. Sasuke watched the black cat blend into the shadows, and then he ran after his comrades.

**You blew it man! She was giving you her full attention.**

_She wouldn't have believed me._

**You saying "I love you" will not mean any other thing!**

_If I told her then she'd be too distracted and would lose her fight._

**It might've made her work harder to win.**

_You know what?_

**Shut up?**

_Yes, exactly._

**Jerk...**

Sasuke ignored the comment and ran off after Naruto, Sakura, and the rest of his teammates and Utau. As he ran, he thought over the opportunity that he missed. _That man must have a plan for when Natsumi's collar breaks. What would he do?_ Ideas streamed into his head, and with the passing of each scenario, his teeth clenched tighter an tighter. _I have to go help her_ he thought. _I need to make sure that she's okay._With that the Uchiha sped up faster to find his comrades.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The mastermind watched as Natsumi, who is still a panther, walk back into the room and seat herself beside him. The panther licked its lips, and the man smiled. He patted her head. "That's a good girl," he said. He took the panther's head in his hands and looked at the feline's face. "Well, better go clean up the corpses." He stood up, and so did Natsumi. He took several steps forward, and then suddenly turned around and threw a knife at the panther, who quickly jumped to evade it. The panther became a young woman.

"You won't be able to out run me," Natsumi warned.

"Ah, but you won't be able to recover from all the injuries I will inflict on you." He flicked his wrist, and Natsumi dodged the shuriken he threw.

_Damn, I don't have my katana or my fans_Natsumi thought. _Not even my weapons pouch. Oh well I suppose._The Niikyo shot fire at the man, and he jumped and threw more shuriken at the kunoichi. She dodged, but she was then stabbed by several senbon. Ignoring the pain, she fired more balls of flame at the villain.

The man kept his distance, and when he noticed Natsumi's slowing movements, he ran in for close range combat. Natsumi quickly blocked the first three punches, but her vision blurred for a minute, giving her opponent a chance to wind her with a blow to the gut. The girl still flipped back, kicking the man in the jaw while she gained some distance. The man threw more shuriken, and Natsumi dodged and was hit by three senbon in the right shoulder. Again, she ignored it and continued fighting. While that fight proceeded, Natsumi became more blind and weak. Finally, she fell onto her knees and cursed at herself for not paying attention to the senbon.

"Did you finally realize that you were poisoned?" the man asked. "I must say, you are disappointing me with your skills. I thought that this fight bould be more...exciting, you know?" He kicked Natsumi, and she fell back. He looked down at her. "What a pity...I believed that you were one of the best, but I guess I was wrong."

"I would kill you right now if it weren't for my current condition and previous shocks from your damned collar," Natsumi said.

"You should've joined me." The man pulled out a dagger and prepared to stab the Niikyo, but a young man appeared next to him, quite suddenly, and whacked the side of the man's face, causing him to fly five feet and hit the wall.

The boy looked down at Natsumi. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Sasuke...?" Natsumi mumbled. "What...where is everyone?"

"They're on their way. I ran ahead."

"Why...?"

Before the Uchiha could reply, he jumped to dodge a shuriken. "I hate to ruin the moment," the man, who was now standing, said, "but I'm getting bored." He threw more shuriken, and Sasuke blocked them with his katana. The Uchiha jumped at the man and swung his blade at him. The villain moved just enough to get a small cut on his left arm. The two continued that back and forth, every move getting them closer to the exit.

Naruto and the others finally reached the room, and they saw the man who was behind all the trouble and Sasuke using hand-to-hand combat. Sasuke kicked the man, and he stumbled back. "Now, Naruto!" the Uchiha called.

"Gotcha!" Naruto replied. Quickly, he created Shadow Clones and ran up to the villan. The boy did his famous Uzumaki Barrage, and the man was down for the count.

Sasuke nodded to Naruto, and Sakura ran over to Natsumi. He watched the medic examine the red haired kunoichi from a distance, and after a few minutes Sakura called him over. "Can you carry Natsumi?" she asked. "Kiba is taking the man back with us for interrogation."

"Alright," he replied. "How is she?"

"she's asleep now; I gave her the antidote. She'll be waking up while we're on our way back to Konoha."

"Alright." Sasuke carefully picked up Natsumi and started to walk out of the room. Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, Utau, Kiba, and Akamaru, who had the villain on his back followed. Once they were all outside of the hideout, Utau paused.

"Well it was an intresting thing to work with you all, but I must be going now," she said. "Catch you all later." She jumped into the air, and disappeared in the trees. The Leaf shinobi paused for a minute, and then they continued on their way back to Konoha.

An hour later, Natsumi stirred in Sasuke's arms. She opened her eyes and stared at the Uchiha. "Are we there yet?" she asked sleepily.

"Hn, you know we're not there yet," he answered.

"Just trying to start a conversation..." The Niikyo thought for a minute, and then she said, "You didn't answer my question earlier. Why did you come when I told you not to follow?"

"I had a feeling that you were in trouble."

"Why didn't you wait for the others?"

"I told you," Sasuke said quietly, "I didn't want to lose you."

"Because...?"

The Uchiha hesitated, a lump in his throat. He slowed down a little, letting his comrades get ahead and out of earshot. He then looked away and mumbled, "Becuase I...love you." Natsumi blinked in surprise.

"What?" she said, obvously taken off guard. _Did he just say what I thought he said?_

"I love you," he said a tiny bit louder. Sasuke looked down at Natsumi, and she could barely see some red on his cheeks. "I grew worried when you started getting those nightmares. That was why I kept stopping by...to see if you were alright."

"Oh..." Natsumi said.

"I could've told you sooner, but I was too...nervous and..." Natsumi reached up and barely touched his lips, and the Uchiha stopped talking and looked at her quizically.

"I forgive you," she said. She smiled, then took her hand down and rested her head against his chest. Sasuke smirked nad sped up, managing to catch up with the others and continued to walk toward the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

* * *

That's it for Chapter 5. Thanks for those who review, and please continue to do so. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and I will post the 6th chapter as soon as I can.

~RedWolf210


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6!! Read, enjoy, and review!

* * *

The Konoha ninja stopped for the night, and the man who had ordered Natsumi's death was tied up and in an ice cage. Naruto sat close by the cage, keeping watch of his moves. Hinata was asleep on her mat, and Sakura was tending to the fire. Natsumi was sitting several yards away from the fire, trying to get the collar, which was in the form of a necklace, off. As she struggled with the necklace, Sasuke walked over and looked around. "Where's Kiba?" he asked.

"He went out to survey the area, just in case there were any henchmen of this guy followed us," Natsumi replied and nodding her head toward the man in the cage.

"Oh." The Uchiha sat down next to her. "Need help getting that off?"

"Yeah, could you?"

"Sure." Sasuke scooted behind Natsumi and took hold of the necklace. After a minute of struggling, he managed to get it off. Natsumi sighed in relief that it was now on the ground. Then the boy remembered something and reached into his pocket. "Recognize this?" he asked as he dangled a necklace in front of the Niikyo's face, its silver pendant swinging before her eyes.

She gasped, "My necklace!" Natsumi took hold of the pendant and examined it, looking for any scratches or bends in the metal. "Thank you for finding it."

"Your welcome," Sasuke replied. "Here, I'll put it on for you." He took the necklace again and set the pendant on Natsumi's chest and pulled the ends of the necklace around to te back of her neck and clasped the metal pieces together.

"Thanks," Natsumi said again.

The Uchiha leaned forward, slightly pressing himself against her back. He murmured, "You're welcome," into her ear. And then he turned his head to face Natsumi's cheek and lightly brushed his lips across the girl's skin.

Natsumi blushed, but then there was a crack of a twig. Both the Niikyo and the Uchiha turned around to see Kiba standing there, arms folded and eyes glaring at Sasuke. "Kiba-kun," Natsumi said.

"What's going on?" Kiba asked, almost growling.

Sasuke leaned back and looked at Kiba. "I was helping Natsumi put on her necklace," he answered.

"Heh, sure looked like it." The boy moved his head, telling Sasuke to follow him. The Uchiha nonchalantly stood up and followed Kiba into the shadows of the forest. Once they were out of earshot, Kiba turned around to speak. "What the hell are you doing? I was going to ask her out, and you start butting in!"

"I was only helping her with her necklace," Sasuke said.

"I saw you lean in and kiss her cheek. Tell me, do you want to ask her out?" Kiba waited for an answer, and when Sasuke didn't speak he said, "Of course you don't. Afraid of the publicity?"

"She'd probably pick me over you."

"But will she last longer than Sakura?" Kiba realized that he went too far when he noticed Sasuke's hands clench. Without a word, the Uchiha turned and walked away, deeper into the forest.

Natsumi saw Kiba walk out of the shadows alone, and she made a worried frown. "What happened?" she asked. The boy sat down next to her.

"It's nothing," Kiba answered. "Sasuke decided to go for a walk."

"I see." Natsumi looked toward the fire where everyone else was. Kiba waited for a moment, and then he gathered the courage to speak.

"Hey, Nat, would you like to go out sometime? Maybe just lunch or something?"

Natsumi looked at him and smiled a little. "That would be nice," she answered. "Well, I'm going to see how Sasuke's doing. He might get lost while he wanders aimlessly."

"Alright..." Kiba watched as the redhead stood up and left him. The boy then mumbled to himself, "He keeps getting all the girls."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Natsumi arrived in a small clearing and saw Sasuke sitting on the grass and staring at the stars. Quietly, she sat down beside him and remained silent. A few minutes passed, and Sasuke asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I came to make sure that you weren't lost."

"Hn, like I'd get lost."

"You can get lost, in both the world and your mind." Natsumi stared at the stars too. "It's easy to be lost in your thoughts when you look at the stars."

"Why are you here?" he asked again.

"You were talking to Kiba, and I suspected that he said something to you that you didn't like." She looked at the boy. "What did he say?"

"...It's none of your business."

The girl frowned. "Sasuke, I can tell that it is bothering you. What did he say?" She stared at him intently, and he kept looking at the stars.

"He mentioned Sakura," he answered quietly.

"Of course he did. Look, he's only jealous that you can get whoever you want." She looked at the sky again. "So, was I part of the conversation then?"

"Hn."

"I'll take that as a yes. You know, if you tell him...about you-know-what, then he would back off a bit. If you enjoy the competition, then just keep up what you're doing." Natsumi lied down on the grass and continued to star-gaze.

"He asked you out didn't he?" Sasuke asked.

"Mm-hm."

"You said yes?"

"Yep, hope you don't mind."

"Hn."

Natsumi laughed. She took another look at the stars and closed her eyes. She was relaxed and calm, drifting off into sleep. Something was then softly pressed against her lips, and when the touch disappeared Natsumi opened her eyes to see Sasuke staring at her. "Did you just kiss me?" she asked.

"Maybe," the boy said. He smirked. Natsumi sat up slowly while the Uchiha watched. The Niikyo stared at him, and he stared back. "What?"

"You're still keeping your feelings penned up," she replied shaking her head. "Always waiting when nobody is watching. If you love me like you said you did, then you would let people know and let any other guy, or anything, stop you."

Sasuke thought about that, and then he looked into Natsumi's golden eyes. He did not reply, and Natsumi sighed in defeat.

"I'm going back to camp," she said as she stood up. "I'll see you in the morning." She turned toward their camp and started walking away.

"Natsumi," called Sasuke.

She turned around to face him. "Wha--" Before she could finish her word, and sentence, she was silenced by Sasuke's lips on hers. After a bit her shock diminished, and she kissed the Uchiha back. Sasuke smirked and kissed Natsumi again, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her close and deepening the kiss. Natsumi put her arms on his shoulders and locked her fingers together behind his head. Sasuke pulled away after a minute to let them breathe.

"Sasuke-kun..." Natsumi whispered. "You know that I love you, right?"

"I know..." Sasuke replied. He softly kissed her lips, and she smiled. "Let's head back to camp." Natsumi nodded in agreement, and she let go of him while Sasuke did the same. They started walking back toward camp, and Sasuke wrapped his arm around Natsumi's waist as they walked.

"So...am I still allowed to go have lunch with Kiba?" she asked while they headed back.

"Hm...alright." Silence filled the conversation all the way back. The two lingered in the shadows for a minute and looked over the camp. Naruto was still awake, Sakura was now asleep by the fire, and beside her was Hinata, who was also asleep. Kiba was sitting on the ground and leaning back against a tree with Akamaru lying down beside him. Natsumi placed her hand on Sasuke's that was holding her close to him, and they looked at each other.

"Do you want to keep this hidden still?" Natsumi asked, slightly squeezing the Uchiha's hand.

Sasuke stared at her calm face and still could see the sorrow in the girl's golden eyes. He looked over at Naruto and then at Kiba. When his gaze turned back to Natsumi, she was looking at the other two as well. The Niikyo looked at Sasuke again, waiting for his answer. Sasuke smirked and pulled her closer and whispered, "We need to tell them sometime, right? I just think that doing this now is going to ruin your date with Kiba."

"We'll see," she whispered back. "Hopefully it won't." Sasuke nodded, and the two of them stepped out into the firelight.

* * *

Oooh, what's gonna happen next? You will find out in Chapter 7!! I'm trying to make this story last longer, and I need to keep you all interested right? No one wants to have their time wasted on a lousy short story. So yeah, 'till the next chapter peoples!!

Please review! Arigato! :3

~RedWolf210


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7!!

Sorry for the delay, but school's eating up most of my day now. Here it is (finally).

* * *

Sasuke and Natsumi stood before their teammates and friends. Naruto and Kiba looked over at them, and Sasuke's arm tightened around Natsumi's waist. Kiba glared at Sasuke, who returned the look with a calm expression. Naruto had a grin on his face as he looked at the two standing together.

"I knew it," he said.

Kiba rolled his eyes and leaned back against the tree. Natsumi kindly removed Sasuke's arm from her waist and walked over to Kiba. The boy looked at her, and when she sat down next to him he asked, "What is it Nat?"

"I can still have lunch with you Kiba," she said. "I owe you since you helped find me, and my necklace."

"I thought Sasuke took the credit of that," he scoffed.

"No, but he didn't have to. I knew you found it. When he handed it to me I could tell Akamaru had it before he did. The smells don't come off that easily, remember?"

He nodded. "Right." Natsumi leaned in and kissed his cheek, and Kiba blushed.

"Thanks for finding it first. If I lost this, I don't know what I would do." She smiled at him.

"Um..." Kiba said. "Do you think that Sasuke allowed that kiss right there?"

The Niikyo laughed quietly. "He'll forgive me, don't worry. I better get going though, before he gets possessive."

Kiba chuckled. "All right. 'Night Nat."

"'Night." Natsumi stood up and walked back over to Sasuke, who was finishing setting up a sleeping mat. She took the extra sleeping mat that they had brought with them for her, and she unrolled and adjusted it accordingly. Once she had done so she lied down on her stomach on the mat and stared at the fire. Sasuke did the same, lying right beside her.

"Something wrong?" he asked after a minute.

Natsumi shook her head. "I just enjoy watching the flames dance," she answered. She stared at the fire for a little longer, and then she rolled onto her side, facing him. "I'm going to sleep now, so I'll talk to you in the morning."

"Okay," Sasuke said. The girl closed her eyes, and he stared at her face a moment before rolling onto his back and looking at the stars. _I better not screw this up_, he thought. He, too, closed his eyes and went to sleep.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The Leaf shinobi arrived in Konoha the next afternoon. The man they brought with them was put in prison for questioning, and everyone else was dismissed. Kiba had taken Natsumi out for lunch, and now they were at the kennel in the Inuzuka compound. Natsumi was playing with the puppies while Kiba was feeding the other dogs. When he finished he walked over to Natsumi, who was currently talking to a puppy.

"Who's a cute puppy?" she cooed as she scratched a grey and white husky pup. "Who's adorable? You are."

The pup wagged its tail and yipped at her.

Kiba laughed. "He says you're cuter."

"I know what he's saying silly. And as for you..." Natsumi kissed the puppy on the forehead. "You're very sweet."

"Well, Nat, let's get going."

"All right." The puppies whined and bunched by her feet, making walking difficult for her. "Awww...I'll be back later, I promise." Several more whines sounded, but the furry crowd soon dispersed. Natsumi smiled at them and walked over to Kiba. The two of them were heading out of the kennel when Kiba's older sister walked into the room toward them.

"Kiba," she said, "Mom needs your help with some things."

"Okay," Kiba replied. He looked at Natsumi. "I'll catch you later Nat."

"Okay, see you around Kiba," Natsumi said. The two hugged, and Natsumi bid Kiba's sister good-bye and left the kennel. She walked back toward her house. When she arrived at her front door she pulled out the house key and unlocked it. She walked inside and closed the door behind her. Natsumi lied down on the couch and closed her eyes.

* * *

The Niikyo woke up to the sound of a thud from the front porch. She quickly got up and walked to the door. She opened it and barely managed to catch Sasuke as the support from the door gave way. Natsumi looked him over, and he was cut multiple times and bloody. She rolled him over onto his back and saw that he was unconscious. "Sasuke!" she said. The Niikyo adjusted so that the Sasuke's head was resting in her lap. She tapped the side of his face.

Sasuke did not respond. Natsumi looked him over again and saw several, fairly large wounds on his chest and stomach. Quickly, the girl made hand signs and began to heal the Uchiha. After healing the major wounds, she carried him to the couch and walked back to the door to close it. When she returned to the living room she noticed that Sasuke's legs were hurt as well. Natsumi walked off to get the first-aid kit. She came back into the living room, knelt down and rolled Sasuke's pant leg up. She frowned at the bite marks on the boy's leg, and then she began to clean the wound. As she did so, she heard a groan.

"Ow...what the hell?" Sasuke mumbled.

"Oh don't be such a baby," Natsumi replied.

"Natsumi?" The boy's eyes opened, and he looked at the redhead. At first, the Uchiha was confused, but then he remembered where he was. Sasuke watched as Natsumi soaked a reddened rag in antiseptic and resumed wiping the bite clean.

"What happened to you?" she asked.

"I was on a mission, and on my way back I was attacked by several wolves." He winced slightly while Natsumi put pressure on the bite. "How bad is it?"

Natsumi set down the rag and began to bandage the leg. "You're lucky," she answered finally. "Judging by the bite's size, the wolf who bit you could've easily broken your leg."

"Why didn't it then?"

"It probably just wanted to scare you off or something. You might have unintentionally stumbled upon a wolf's den, and the pack was just protecting its pups."

"Tsk, I doubt I did that." Sasuke waited for Natsumi to finish bandaging his leg. She pulled the bandages tight, making him wince, and tied it in place.

"There, that should be good," Natsumi said.

"Thanks."

"Mm-hm, you'll need to take it easy for a day or two." She put the medical supplies back into the first-aid kit and walked back to the bathroom to put it away. Natsumi came back and sat down on the smaller couch. "So, was your mission a success?"

"Yeah." Silence filled in for several minutes, and Sasuke closed his eyes. Natsumi picked up a book and started reading it. After about an hour, the Niikyo noticed that Sasuke was starting to sweat. She got out of her seat, walked over to him and placed a hand on his forehead, then the side of his neck.

_He's starting to get a fever_, Natsumi thought to herself. She walked away to fetch a clean rag and a small bowl of cool water. The girl returned to the living room set the bowl and rag on the floor by the large couch where Sasuke was resting, scooted a wooden chair closer to it, and sat down. Natsumi dunked the rag into the water, wringed it out, and gently pressed it against the boy's forehead.

Sasuke's eyes opened slightly. "What are you doing?" he mumbled.

"Keeping your fever down," Natsumi replied. "Did anything else happen to you on your mission?"

"I...I can't remember."

Natsumi frowned. "I'll see if this fever goes down, and if not, then I'll have to take you to the hospital."

"It's not that bad of a fever."

"Well we should play it safe, you might have gotten poisoned by something. For now, just rest. If you feel any worse, at all, let me know."

"Hn..." The Niikyo smiled a little and re-moistened the rag. She lightly dabbed Sasuke's face, and he stared at the ceiling. After a minute he closed his eyes again. Natsumi kept the rag on his forehead and reached for a small photo album. She began flipping through its pages, smiling at the good memories the family photos gave her.

After a while she finished looking through the album and its fun-filled memories, she stood up from her chair and walked over to the a book shelf. She carefully placed the book in its rightful place on the third shelf. Natsumi turned around and walked to the coffee table beside the long couch where Sasuke slept. She picked up a small wooden box and inspected it. She then pressed a spot on the smooth wood of the box, making a section pop out. She slid the compartment open and pulled out a key. She inserted it into a hole in the back corner of the box and winded it. The Niikyo twisted the key four times, and then she set the box down on the table. The gold key turned slowly, and a song began to play, the notes articulating and blending into a sweet, light euphony.

Natsumi then began to sing with the instrumental:

"_Dancing bears, painted wings.  
Things I almost remember...  
And a song, someone sings,  
Once upon a December._

"_Someone holds me safe and warm.  
Horses prance through a silver storm.  
Figures dancing gracefully,  
Across my memory._"

The Niikyo glided across the hardwood floor, dancing with the music as she looked at the photographs of her childhood. Her feet were stepping lightly, twirling her around like a small child imagining herself as a ballerina. As she danced around, Natsumi hummed with the music box. When the tune began to slow, meet its end, she sang once more.

"_And, a song...someone sings....  
Once...upon...a December..._"

The music ceased, and so did the note Natsumi held out. She smiled to herself, resting her hand on the necklace her mother gave her. The Niikyo glanced over at Sasuke, who seemed to still be asleep. She looked at the clock to see that it was around nine in the evening. Natsumi decided to heal Sasuke's leg -- her chakra felt replenished enough to allow her to use it for medical ninjutsu. She walked over to the Uchiha and knelt beside the couch he slept on. She gently rested her hands on his bandaged leg, and then she sent her chakra into it, repairing the skin and muscle from the wolf-bite.

She soon finished that, and then she looked at Sasuke's face. It looked so peaceful and relaxed, something that the boy never showed when he was awake. Natsumi smiled at him, and then she noticed that the rag she was using to cool down his fever was on the floor. She picked it up and soaked it once again. Before Natsumi put it on his forehead, she tested his temperature. It was still hot. She wringed the rag to where it was not too wet, folded it, and placed it on his forehead. Natsumi prayed that the fever wasn't bad and was the only thing that would happen. She didn't want him to be poisoned.

_He'll be fine_, she thought to herself in reassurance. The Niikyo decided to distract herself by cooking some dinner, since her stomach was rather empty, and his would probably be too. Natsumi stood up and walked over to the kitchen and collected some ingredients and a pot, and then she began to make some soup. Once she had everything in the pot and cooking on the stove, Natsumi decided to go and take a shower. She walked out of the kitchen and upstairs to the second floor bathroom where she can have easy access to her room.

Fifteen minutes later, Natsumi sprinted quietly down the stairs to the kitchen. She checked the soup and, once finding that it was well done, turned off the stove and served herself a bowl. She carried the bowl with her, eating as she walked into the living room. The Niikyo peeked around the corner of the hallway to see that Sasuke was awake, the music box in his hands. He looked up to see her, and he greeted, "Hey."

"Hey," Natsumi said.

"What song does this play?" he asked, examining the box. Natsumi walked over and sat beside him.

"My father made that music box. Mother kept singing this song as a lullaby to Mayume and I, and Father decided to make the music box play the lullaby so she didn't have to sing to us every night." She took the box carefully from the Uchiha's hands and slowly stroked the box's smooth wooden surface. "It was his anniversary present for her."

"I see."

"Anyway, are you hungry for some soup?"

"Not really."

"Well I'll get you a small bowl then, and you can have seconds if you wish." Without having him speak in protest, Natsumi stood and left the room, setting the music box on a small table beside the small couch before she went back into the kitchen to get him a bowl of soup. She returned with a bowl in each hand and sat down next to Sasuke. She handed him a bowl, and he took it carefully. Natsumi ate a spoonful of hers while Sasuke did the same.

"This is good," he commented.

"Thanks," Natsumi said with a smile. The two continued eating in silence. Sasuke finished his bowl and stood up to put it away, but Natsumi stopped him. "I got it."

"It's fine, I got it."

"You may be able to walk, but you are still sick." The Niikyo's tone became firm. "Sit. I'll take the dishes."

"I don't feel sick," he argued. "I got it."

Natsumi rolled her eyes. "I'm not disabled, Sasuke. I will put the dishes away. Besides, you are a guest; it would not be right for me to let you do this." She got up and left before the argument continued further, leaving Sasuke mumbling under his breath about being treated like a child. When Natsumi returned to the room, she sat on the smaller couch across from him.

"Why did your mother sing a song like that?" Sasuke asked. "Personal experience?"

"What do you mean?" Natsumi answered.

"The lyrics."

"You were listening?" Her tone sounded like she had been caught off guard. Sasuke smirked.

"It sounded nice, don't get me wrong. You sang it well."

The Niikyo flushed a light red, and he chuckled. "Why did you hum parts of it? You forgot the lyrics then?"

She shook her head. "I didn't want to wake you, so I just hummed."

"Until the end of course."

"Of course." Natsumi changed the subject. "So did you remember what happened on your mission?" she asked.

The Uchiha shook his head. "No," he replied.

"Are you sure?" She looked at him suspiciously.

"All I remember was that it was about gathering information."

"That's it?"

"Yes."

"Alright." Natsumi picked up the music box and began to inspect the music box that rested in her hands once again. She slid the top of the box open and reached inside the compartment. The girl then pulled out a necklace made from a gold chain.

"What's that?" Sasuke asked.

"It's the necklace my father gave my mother the night before the massacre. She never got to wear it." Natsumi rested the necklace's pendant on her palm. The diamond pendant was in the shape of a rose, sparkling in the dim light. "Father worked hard to pay for it, and Mother was so happy to receive it."

Sasuke stood up and quietly walked over to Natsumi. He took a good look at the necklace. "Do you think that your mother would have wanted you to wear it?"

"Maybe..." The Niikyo lifted the necklace and unfastened it. She put the clasps behind her neck and tried to put the ends back together. After a minute of her fingers fumbling behind her head, she felt hands take hold of hers and guide them to each other to clasp. Once she finished putting on the necklace she looked into the lid's mirror. "It looks beautiful," Natsumi said. She smiled weakly. "Mom would have looked really nice in this."

"How would you know?"

"I look almost identical to her." The Niikyo stared at her reflection for another minute or so, and then she said, "I should take it off." When she lifted her hands up to undo the clasp, Sasuke's hands took hers again. She looked up at him. "What are you doing?"

He replied, "I think that your mother would want you to keep it on. It looks good on you."

"Thanks..." she said. She looked back at the music box and was silent for a bit, but then she asked, "Can I have my hands back? I need to close the music box."

Sasuke had forgotten about himself holding the Niikyo's hands. He quickly let go and walked back to his seat. Natsumi closed the music box and set it on the table beside her. She then stood up and left, saying she had to set up a room for him, which Sasuke was again left alone to sulk about not getting the chance to argue. About seven minutes passed and Natsumi came back and sat down on the large couch.

"Umm...you're sitting on me," Sasuke said.

"I know, and you make a comfortable chair," she replied. She leaned back and rested the back of her head on Sasuke's left shoulder. Natsumi repositioned herself after a minute or so and froze. "Um...what's that? Is it..."

The boy looked away from the redhead. Natsumi got the message and, also feeling awkward, got out of Sasuke's lap, her cheeks flushed. "Sorry..." he mumbled.

"It was my fault, sorry." The Niikyo began to fiddle with the diamond pendant hanging from her neck. Once she felt that her face was not so red, she looked at the Uchiha and asked, "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah; I'm fine," he answered. Sasuke kept his eyes away from Natsumi, hearing the awkwardness in her voice. He waited a minute, and then he turned his head to face her. She was close -- less than four inches away. "Natsumi, what are you..." The girl kissed his lips softly, and when she pulled away, Sasuke finished, "doing...?"

"Sorry...I couldn't help it." Natsumi smiled a little at his stunned face and kissed him again, and this time he kissed back. Sasuke turned in his seat and leaned into the kiss. The Niikyo started to leaned back, and Sasuke followed her. Still making out, Natsumi lied down on the couch with Sasuke on top of her. The Uchiha pulled away and started to kiss the girl's neck while she caught her breath. Small moans escaped Natsumi's lips as he did so. He stopped and looked down at Natsumi's face, smirking.

Natsumi blushed, and Sasuke chuckled, leaned forward and murmured in her ear, "I love you." He then resumed kissing her neck.

"I love you too," the girl replied breathlessly. Sasuke's lips went up, found hers and kissed them. Natsumi kissed back, and she ran her fingers through his hair and down his back. She pulled away and yanked off the Uchiha's shirt. The boy stared down at her, panting, and then he noticed her worried expression.

"What is it Nat?" he asked.

"You're red," she replied.

"It happens when we do this."

The girl shook her head. "Not like this." she placed her hand on the boy's forehead, and then the side of his neck. "You're warm."

"Like I said, it is natural when we do this."

"Sasuke, we didn't do too much for you to be this hot." She frowned. "We should take you to a doctor."

"I told you Natsumi, I'm okay." He kissed her softly on the lips. "I promise I'll let you know when I don't feel well, okay?"

"Okay..." Natsumi still had a frown on her face when Sasuke looked at her again. Now it was he who started to worry.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm just worried about you," she replied. "I don't think continuing this will make you feel any better, I'm sorry." The boy smiled his famous small smile and kissed her forehead.

"It's fine. Where do you want to sleep?"

"I'm too lazy to go upstairs..."

"Then I'll carry you."

"No, you won't. I'll just pull out the bed in this sofa."

"...Alright." Sasuke got off of Natsumi and let her get up and clear the couch. She folded out the bed and walked down the hallway to get the sheets from the closet. She came back with the sheets and a few pillows in her arms, and Sasuke took the pillows from her so she could place the sheets on the futon. Sasuke placed the pillows on the backing of the couch. After the bed was set, Natsumi lied down on the bed and pulled the blanket over herself, and Sasuke go under the covers with her.

Natsumi cuddled up to him. "I really am sorry that I spoiled the moment back there," she said. Sasuke hugged her.

"It's fine, Nat, don't worry about it."

"Okay," she sighed. The Niikyo rested her head on Sasuke's bare chest. "Umm...do you want to put your shirt back on?"

"Nah," Sasuke replied, "I have you to keep me warm." He hugged her more securely, and he rested his chin on the top of her head. The Uchiha sniffed her hair. "What shampoo do you use?" he asked.

"Raspberry Satin," Natsumi answered. She yawned. "Well, good night Sasuke-kun."

"Good night."

* * *

Sorry that I took so long!! I'll try to bring in Chapter 8 ASAP. Hopefully it'll come faster than this one...

Please Review!! Thanks a ton.

~RedWolf210


	8. Chapter 8

**_Natsumi was in a rocky terrain, and she looked around. She had a feeling something bad was happening. A man in black jumped out from behind a large boulder and launched several bomb kunai at her. She leaped into the air and spotted Sasuke standing between another ninja and a child. The Stone ninja pulled out a sword and thrusted, but Sasuke grabbed the little girl and dodged the blow. The Uchiha appeared ten yards away and set the girl down._**

**_The explosion from the kunai sent Natsumi back, and she landed on top of a boulder. The man in black appeared before the Niikyo and threw a punch at her. She dodged and used her fire-bending to make the man lose his balance and fall off the boulder they were on top of. She quickly jumped down after him and pulled out her katana. Natsumi held the sword down, and it sunk into the ninja's chest, who gasped in surprise. He coughed, and then he no longer moved or breathed. With an assuring twist of the sword, Natsumi pulled her katana out of the assassin's chest and ran in the direction she saw Sasuke and the little girl._**

**_When she rounded the boulder, she saw Sasuke and the enemy ninja standing close to each other, face to face. The man fell back, his chest a bloody mess from Chidori. Sasuke stood for a moment, and then he, too, fell onto his back. "Sasuke!" Natsumi shouted. She wanted to run to him first, but she knew that the girl was prior to the mission they were doing, so she ran over to her instead. The Niikyo knelt down before the little girl, who was sitting behind Sasuke approximately five feet away, and tucked the girl's stray strands of reddish brown hair that covered her face behind her ear. "Are you alright?" she asked the girl._**

**_The little girl nodded and pointed to Sasuke. Natsumi turned around, stood up, and ran over to him. She dropped to her knees and looked down at the kunai the was stabbed into his stomach. She pulled out the knife and immediately started to heal it with her medical ninjutsu. "Natsumi..." he mumbled._**

**_"I'm helping your wound," she answered, trying to keep her voice calm. "Now stay with me; you'll be okay."_**

**_"Just get out of here..."_**

**_"No, I'm not leaving you." Tears were stinging her eyes now, and she felt herself choking back sobs. "You'll be okay, just hang on." She heard his breathing become more shallow and stared at him. His breathing had stopped. Her eyes widened. "No...no, no, no, no..." The Niikyo checked the boy's pulse -- nothing. The little girl behind Natsumi watched as she hugged Sasuke tightly in her arms and sobbed into his shoulder. She felt herself shaking as well as her mind beginning to blank..._**

Natsumi finally woke up, and she felt the dry trail of tears on her face as well as new tears moving down her cheeks. She then felt the constricting of arms holding her close. Natsumi looked up to see Sasuke's onyx eyes staring down at her. "Natsumi," he said, "What's wrong, did you have a nightmare?"

The Niikyo did not hear his question, she only hugged him tight and sobbed. After she cried for a minute she whispered, "I had a vision, and it showed a mission we had together. We had to escort a little girl to the Village Hidden Among the Stone, and we were attacked." She squeezed him tighter. "I lost you in the mission."

"Nat, you know I won't die."

"Maybe, but it was so scary...It was so real..." She started to cry again. "I don't want to lose you, Sasuke."

Sasuke held her close. "You won't, I promise," he said. He wiped a tear away from Natsumi's eye. "Don't cry, please?"

The girl nodded, curled up against his chest and quieted down. She couldn't fall back asleep, and Sasuke could tell. He rubbed her back, kissed her hair, and whispered, "I love you," in her ear. Natsumi smiled a little and closed her eyes. Within a few minutes she was asleep, and the Uchiha stayed up to make sure she could wake up if she had any more nightmares.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sakura was running down the forest path as fast as she could. She finally arrived at the Niikyo household and walked through the small white wooden gate. The kunoichi was approaching the front porch when she noticed the clanging noises coming from the backyard. Sakura walked around the back and saw Natsumi and Sasuke sparring with each other. Natsumi noticed the pinkette and caught the Sasuke's he was in front of her fist before it reached her face. "Hey Sakura," she said and looked at her over Sasuke's shoulder. "What brings you here?" Sasuke turned around and looked at Sakura.

"You both have a mission and need to see the Hokage immediately," she answered.

Natsumi glanced at Sasuke, and he met her gaze for a small second. The boy nodded, and she nodded back. "Thanks for telling us, Sakura," Natsumi said. Then the two took off toward the Hokage's office.

_Well those two are in sync..._Sakura thought. She walked on and stared at the ground in thought. _I guess that Naruto was right and that they are together._ She smiled. _Well that is good for them._Sakura then continued on her way to the office of the Fifth Hokage.

* * *

Tsunade heard the door open, and without looking up she greeted, "Hello Natsumi, Sasuke."

"How did you know?" Natsumi's voice asked.

"I recognized your footsteps, and Sasuke is the only one who enters this office without knocking."

"Hn," retorted Sasuke.

"Anyways," Tsunade said as she aligned her paperwork, "Both of you have a mission to escort the granddaughter of the Elders of the Village Hidden Among the Stone." The woman took a small breath and muttered, "That was a mouthful..." She looked up at Natsumi, who had a worried look in her eyes. "Is there something wrong, Natsumi?" Tsunade asked.

"No," the Niikyo replied. Sasuke glanced at her, who was standing on his left.

"By the way Sasuke is looking at you I think that there is something wrong." The Hokage folded her hands on her desk. "Is there something wrong with this mission?"

"It's fine," Natsumi insisted, "Nothing we can't handle." Tsuande stared at the redhead for a minute, and then she nodded.

"The granddaughter should be arriving here shortly." Right on cue, the door opened, and Shizune's head popped in.

"Here she is," the woman said. She opened the door wider, and a girl who looked about six years old walked into the room. The little girl looked at Natsumi and Sasuke with her hazel, almost yellow eyes that were brought out by her reddish-brown hair. "This is Kaia," Shizune introduced.

The little girl smiled at Natsumi. She waved at the two ninja and the Hokage. Tsunade smiled at the girl, though Natsumi, Sasuke and Shizune knew that she didn't really like kids that much.

"Alright, Natsumi, Sasuke," Tsunade said. "You three should get packed and be off. Once you get to the Village Hidden Among the Stone, rest a night there and return here first thing the next day. If anything happens to delay your mission, send word back to me or the Stone Village if you can. Understood?"

"Hai," said Natsumi and Sasuke. The Uchiha left the room, and Natsumi walked over to the little girl.

"Hi Kaia," she said. "As you heard from the Hokage, my name is Natsumi."

Kaia nodded and asked, "We are going home, right?"

"First I need to pack things to help us camp along the way home." Natsumi held out her hand and said, "Let's go Kaia."

The girl nodded and took the Niikyo's hand. Together the two walked out of the Hokage's office and toward Sasuke, who was waiting by the stairs. When they caught up with the Uchiha, all three started walking down the steps and to the Uchiha and Niikyo households.

"We should split up for now to pack up," Sasuke said.

"I'll go take Kaia then," Natsumi said.

"Alright." The two parted ways at the fork in the road, one alone and one with a child.

* * *

Sasuke, Natsumi, and Kaia were walking on the worn road, the sun high in the blue sky. The small girl, who wore a hat that was obviously too big for her, stopped marching and whined, "I'm thirsty."

"Alright," Natsumi said. She stopped, reached into her backpack and pulled out a canteen. She handed the canteen to Kaia, and the girl untwisted the cap, opening it and taking to gulps of the cool water inside. She licked her lips and capped the canteen. Kaia handed the container back to Natsumi, and the Niikyo put the canteen back into her backpack.

"Thank you Sumi," Kaia said as they started walking. Before the three had left the Village Hidden in the Leaves, Kaia had given Natsumi and Sasuke nicknames. After much debate, Natsumi was called Sumi and Sasuke was called Sasu. Another hour of walking passed, and Kaia said, "My feet hurt Sumi."

Sasuke and Natsumi stopped and looked at each other. Natsumi then transformed into the tiger, and Sasuke picked up little Kaia and set her on the feline's back. The girl leaned forward and clung to Natsumi's fur as they walked.

Birds suddenly took frantic flight and moved ahead of them. The two Leaf shinobi stared in the direction that the flock came from, and then they continued ahead when they observed that there was nothing suspicious about it. The sun was an hour away from touching the treetops before them, and Kaia yawned. "Are we there yet?" she asked.

"No," Sasuke answered. "We still have a little longer before we camp."

Natsumi nodded. "We want to be as close as possible to some water and natural shelter as we can," she said. "That way we can sleep with no worries."

"Sumi can talk as a tiger?!" Kaia gasped. She grinned and patted the tigress on the top of her head. "Sumi is a good kitty."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and walked faster ahead. Natsumi warned Kaia that she was about to speed up, and the girl wrapped her arms around the tiger's neck. Natsumi bounded after Sasuke and soon passed him. The Uchiha stared after the Niikyo, and then he ran after her, entertained by the race that Natsumi was provoking.

* * *

That's all for Chapter 8. I'll update more soon. Thanks for your patience guys.

~RedWolf210


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 :)

* * *

The campfire crackled as it was fed with more dry twigs. Kaia was asleep in the tent while Natsumi and Sasuke were discussing the mission three feet away from the tent. "So this is the girl from your dream?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes," Natsumi answered. "So, if my dream is accurate, then we will probably encounter those Stone ninja in a day or so."

"Why did the girl end up with me?"

"I don't know, maybe she grew a liking to you by then."

"Hn." The tent flap opened, and the two shinobi turned to see Kaia looking at them.

"Is something wrong, Kaia?" Natsumi asked.

"I can't sleep Sumi," Kaia replied. Her pleading eyes stared at the Niikyo. "Can you sleep with me?"

Natsumi smiled at the girl. "Of course Kaia. I'll be there in a minute." Kaia nodded and walked into the tent. Natsumi looked over at Sasuke and quickly kissed him on the cheek. "You're ending up with first shift tonight."

"Alright," the Uchiha replied. "Get some rest if you can."

"Switch after an hour?"

"Sure."

The Niikyo smiled again, and then she got up and walked into the tent and closed the flap. Sasuke smiled, and then he looked around the campsite they had set up for the night. He watched for any movement within the circle of light that was given by the campfire. Finding nothing he looked into the fire and began wondering about who would be after Kaia. A rebel group? Family foe? The hour ticked by as he thought about it. Sasuke's shift was soon over, and he got up and walked over to the tent. He opened the flap and stepped inside to see Natsumi asleep with Kaia in her arms. The Uchiha smiled at the sight, then he reluctantly woke up Natsumi.

"Natsumi," he said, "your shift."

The girl's eyes opened, and she yawned, "Alright." Natsumi carefully removed her arm from underneath Kaia's head, replacing it with a small pillow. She sat up, turned into a wolf, and trotted out of the tent. Sasuke closed the tent behind her, and then he walked over to his sleeping mat and lied down. He closed his eyes and drifted off into a light sleep.

Natsumi listened to the night with her wolf ears. They twitched at the sound of rustling in the bushes. The wolf scratched her ear with her hind leg and yawned. She then decided to go explore the area. Natsumi sniffed along the cool ground as she walked around. She caught the scent of a fire being put out, and, being curious, she followed the scent. The she-wolf stopped and lied down inside a low bush and peeked through at the camp. Two dark figures took off into the night, and after waiting for a minute, Natsumi crawled out from under the brush and sniffed around the camp, searching for identifying scents. One scent that lingered in the dirt was the faint smell of blood. After another sniff the Niikyo concluded that it was animal blood. Scents of cooked meat, soot, and sweat, which made Natsumi's nose wrinkle, also lingered around the campsite. Five minutes later the she-wolf found a footprint, and upon sniffing it growled in recognition of the man who had killed Sasuke in her vision.

_They're probably planning on cutting us off further ahead _Natsumi thought. She then stood up and trotted back to camp. When she got there Sasuke was sitting by the fire. He watched as the wolf walked over and took a seat beside him. "It hasn't been an hour yet," she said.

"Hn."

"Why are you up?"

"I'm not tired."

"I heard you fall asleep for a little while."

"Well, I couldn't sleep."

"Anxious?"

"...Hn."

Natsumi's ear twitched in somewhat annoyance. She looked around, and, finding nothing, lied down and rested her head in his lap. "Why did you wake up?" she asked.

"I didn't hear you outside," was his reply.

"I went to investigate a recent camp. It had the scents of the people from my vision."

"Did you follow them?"

"No, but I figured that they were going to intercept us anyway. Are you worried about the possible battle?"

"What happens, happens. I won't let them kill me that easily, alright?"

"Right," Natsumi sighed.

The Uchiha stroked her head. "Can you change back?" he asked. Natsumi looked up at him, then the she-wolf rolled onto her back and turned back into a human. Her golden eyes stared curiously up at him.

"Why did you want me to change back?" she questioned.

"So I could do this..." Sasuke leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips. Natsumi kissed back, reaching up and resting her hand on the back of his head to hold his lips to hers a little longer. After a minute the kiss ended, and the two stared into each other's eyes.

"You do realize that we both made ourselves vulnerable to the enemy, right?" the Niikyo said.

Sasuke nodded carefully. "That was what I was thinking," he answered.

"No matter what, we need to complete this mission and protect Kaia. If I'm attacked, grab Kaia and get out of there as soon as possible. I would catch up when I could, alright?"

"Then you had better do the same for me."

Natsumi nodded slowly. "I'll try." Sasuke smiled and kissed her forehead.

"I love you," he said quietly.

"I love you too," the Niikyo replied. She kissed his lips. "Are you going back to bed?"

"Not tired."

A lot is on your mind, Sasuke?"

"Basically..."

"Hm, I see..." Natsumi sat up and threw some twigs into the fire. Silence filled the conversation for a while, and then Natsumi began to hum the lullaby her mother sang, and Sasuke listened quietly. He watched the firelight dance across her face and the brightness in her eyes. She finished the song and smiled at Sasuke.

The Uchiha looked at the sky. "When should we leave?" he asked.

"I think just before the sun comes up."

"Are we going to have to stop this early the whole trip?"

"Maybe. We can take turns carrying Kaia while she's asleep or something if needed."

"Alright." sasuke stared into the fire, and Natsumi did the same. she yawned, and he asked, "Tired?"

"Not really."

"Do you need the sleep?"

"No, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Natsumi insisted. She glanced at him. "Worried much?" she asked.

Sasuke simply replied, "If you are going to be carrying Kaia tomorrow, you will need your strength and get as much sleep as you can."

"I'm not sleep-deprived you know," she answered.

"You were not too long ago."

"Sasuke, that was a day or two ago. I'm fine now, okay?" Natsumi turned back into a wolf and stood up. "I'm going for a walk."

"Fine," Sasuke said. He watched the wolf trot off into the shadows before he began star-gazing.

* * *

Natsumi was running through the forest, letting the wind flow through her fur. As she ran, she felt a strange, piercing stare. The wolf stopped and sniffed the air. Someone was nearby, and their scent was one that she did not want to smell. As soon as she recognized the scent, the fur on the back of her neck bristled, and a growl emitted from her throat. Natsumi quickly started running away from the camp, from her charge and teammate, and at the same time she tried to lose the threat at hand. The she-wolf bounded over logs and leaped over rocks that obstructed her way. There was no luck in shaking the man heading toward her; he was closing in. Once she started to think about what the person wanted, there was a bashing blow to her side, sending her three feet to the side of the route she was taking along with a surprised yelp. Her other side slammed into a tree, and she yelped in pain and collapsed to the floor. Natsumi turned back into her human form and tried to stand, but a hand seized her by her throat. The hand lifted her off her feet and against the tree. She looked at the man before her.

"What are you doing here...Itachi?" she growled.

* * *

Well that's all for now. Hope you all liked it. Please review, they make me happy and write more. :D

~RedWolf210


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10! Yay!

Thanks to all of you who are reading and sticking to this story. Please make a review at the end of this chapter. I really want to know what you think of this fanfic. Thanks again, and now enjoy!

* * *

Itachi's red eyes were staring right into her eyes. He was quiet, not a word was spoken for a minute, but then he said, "Heading to the Land of Stone are we?"

"Where I am going does not concern you," Natsumi replied.

"Hn."

"What do you want with me?" she asked.

"Well, I wanted to see how you were doing with my little brother." He chuckled. "And it looks like you two are getting very close. I wonder what he would do if I hurt you..." His hand tightened around her neck, and Natsumi tried to pry his hands off of her windpipe.

"Are you going to kill me?" she managed to say while she tried to gain a better breath. "And make Sasuke lose someone else?"

His gaze darkened. "Continue that speech and I will kill you." he warned.

"Seriously, what do you want?"

"What is your mission?" Itachi asked, seeming to not have heard Natsumi's question. "Escorting the precious grandchild of the Stone Elders back home? Do you know what people would want to get their hands on the girl, getting the leverage needed to manipulate the fate of the Stone village?"

"I don't see how this mission would pertain to you. What is your point with this?"

"If you and Sasuke cannot defeat the assassins that are after you and the girl, then neither of you cannot defeat me." His hand tightened a little more around her throat, but then he paused. Then then he turned around to see to find Sasuke glaring at him, his eyes a murderous red from the Sharingan.

"Itachi," he growled. "Let. Her. Go."

The older Uchiha smirked, and his grip tightened even more, making Natsumi gasp for air. "And if I don't?" he prompted.

"I'll kill you."

"I don't think so." Sasuke gave his older brother a hateful glare, and Itachi chuckled.

"Sasuke," Natsumi gasped. "Go back...now."

The young Uchiha pulled his katana from its sheath and held it out. Sparks started to emanate from the blade as he charged it with Chidori. Sasuke's Sharingan was a vicious red, glaring at Itachi.

"Sasuke," she repeated in a stern tone. "Remember the mission."

"That's right," Itachi said. "Go back to the little girl who is supposed to stay alive, little brother."

"Itachi," Sasuke growled.

"Listen to your teammate - she doesn't want you to get hurt." Itachi loked at Natsumi with the Sharingan, and Natsumi closed her eyes as fast as she could, but it was too late. The girl screamed from the power of the genjutsu, and Itachi smirked.

"Leave her alone!" Sasuke shouted. He ran towards Itachi, lightning coiled and sparking around his katana. Before he could reach him, his older brother disappeared. Natsumi fell to the floor, coughing and gasping for air.

"Next time, little brother..."

Sasuke didn't linger with the voice. He sheathed his katana and knelt beside the red haired kunoichi. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah..." she coughed. She slowly pushed herself up. "Why didn't you go back? You promised to focus on the mission."

"I didn't want to lose you to Itachi," the Uchiha replied.

"But what about Kaia?"

"She's fine. I didn't leave her at camp."

"What?"

Sasuke turned his head and motioned his hand. Kaia came running out of the bushes and hugged Natsumi. "Sumi!" she cried. "Are you okay? You were screaming and..." The girl started crying.

Natsumi hugged back. "I'm fine," she said.

"We should get out of here," Sasuke said. Natsumi nodded, and she stood and picked up Kaia only to have the little girl taken from her by Sasuke. "You need to take it easy, you were caught in Itachi's genjustu."

"I said I'm fine."

"Just carry your bag for now." The Uchiha walked over to the bushes and pulled out her backpack. He handed it to Natsumi, and while she strapped it on Kaia put on Sasuke's backapck and climbed onto his back. Once he saw that Natsumi was ready, he began to walk ahead. Natsumi followed closely, keeping an eye on their surroundings while they traveled.

It was noon when they took a break. Natsumi handed Kaia some dried fruit and a canteen of water. Kaia accepted the food and drink while Sasuke and Natsumi took a food pill and a sip of water from their own canteens. Once they finished resting, the three began to resume their route to the Village Hidden Among the Stone.

"Sumi," Kaia said. "When are we gonna get there?"

"Soon, Kaia," Natsumi replied. She adjusted the little girl on her back and ran faster. Sasuke, who was carrying her bag, sped up to be at pace with his teammate.

"Don't push yourself Natsumi," he warned.

"She should be home as soon as possible."

"The pace that we're going at is fine."

"Being early doesn't hurt either."

Sasuke glanced at his teammate as they ran, and she gazed back at him. "We can discuss this later," he said. He notice Natsumi make a small smile in satisfaction, and he rolled his eyes.

Kaia rested her chin on Natsumi's right shoulder, watching where they were headed. Her eyes looked sad and had a dim quality to them, which made Sasuke scowl.

"Are you okay, Kaia?" he asked.

The little girl blinked as if she were in a daydream, and her eyes faced the Uchiha. "I'm fine," she said with a tiny smile. Sasuke could tell that it was a fake one, but he decided to leave the child be and continued to focus on the route that they were taking. The terrain was barren of trees, but boulders filled the desolate landscape to where The Uchiha was confident that they wouldn't get lost. He noticed Natsumi slowing down the slightest bit, keeping close to him as she let her golden gaze scan the area as they ran.

"Is something wrong?" he asked Natsumi.

The Niikyo kept her eyes in front of them. "There are two ninja following us," she reported. "But they're not the ones that we were expecting." When Sasuke nodded, the two shinobi stopped their run and waited out in the open terrain.

"Okay, we know that you are following us," Natsumi shouted into the wind. "Show yourselves now, or else we'll have to search you out and find out who you are the hard and painful way."

A breeze lifted her red hair to the right the slightest bit as she, Sasuke, and their charge waited in silence. A minute had passed, and two brown-vested ninja appeared several feet in front of the Konoha shinobi. "Give us the girl," said the man on the left.

"Tell us who you are," Sasuke demanded.

"We are ninja sent by the Tsuchikage to escort the granddaughter of the village elders back home," stated the ninja on the right.

"Well we are shinobi sent by the Hokage to take her to the Village hidden Among the Stone," Natsumi said. "We both cannot abandon our missions, so we might as well go together."

The one on the left was about to protest, but a look from his teammate silenced him. Instead, the man on the right spoke. "Very well, follow us." The two started to run, and the Leaf ninja trailed close behind.

"Do they look familiar to you?" Sasuke asked Kaia.

"No." The little girl frowned. "But then again, the staff changes all the time; I am not given specific protectors."

Natsumi nodded in understanding. "Since they're here, we should be close." The wind hit their faces, and the Niikyo's nose wrinkled. "These two men reek of blood."

"Do you think that they took care of the assassins?" Sasuke asked.

"I doubt these two would survive those men. They could have been returning from a previous mission and were sent out on this one."

"Hn." The Uchiha looked ahead at the other two ninja. "Hey, how much farther are we going? My teammate is recovering from our previous encounter and needs to rest." He kept his gaze on the back of their heads, ignoring the glare coming from his left.

"We're a day or two's worth of hard running," answered the ninja on the right.

Sasuke grunted in acknowledgement and side glanced at the red haired kunoichi. "Do you think you can take the pace?"

The young woman huffed as they ran. "Ive been raised by a pack of nomadic wolves. Do you think that they stopped to wait for me if I were to stop and say that I'm tired?"

"Don't wolves hunt for an injured comrade though?"

"I am not an injured wolf; I am simply shaken."

"You're not a wolf, either."

Natsumi huffed again. "I'll be fine, Sasuke. Trust me, I know my limits and will let you know if I am about to collapse."

"You will let me know at least an hour before you think you will collapse." The two ninja shared a heated glare, and Kaia glanced anxiously between the two. After a minute of silence, the Uchiha said, "I'm just making sure that you haven't suffered too much from the genjutsu."

"I know," the kunoichi answered quietly. "And I am fine, so you don't need to worry." When he saw that she wouldn't change her mind, Sasuke reluctanly relented and continued to follow the Stone ninja in silence.

The four shinobi stopped for the night and had set up camp in the shelter of a large boulder where their fire light couldn't betray their presence. Kaia cuddled up to Natsumi, who stroked her hair softly while the little girl slept. The two Stone ninja stood from their spot across from the Leaf shinobi and told them that they were going to survey the area for the presence that Natsumi "sensed." Once they had disappeared into the night, Sasuke looked at the Niikyo.

"Are you sure that they aren't the assassins from your dream?" he asked.

"I'm sure," the redhead replied. "They don't smell the same."

The young man nodded and watched the shadows beyond the flames, and he then asked, "How are you feeling? Did the run tire you out?"

"No, it did not tire me one bit." She shifted her gaze from the top of Kaia's head to glance at the Uchiha. "You should get some sleep; you seem a little jumpy."

"I'm fine."

"Sasuke, you do know that once there is fire nearby, I can be a formidable opponent. Go to sleep." The two shared a look before the shinobi finally gave in with a sigh. He was getting ready to go inside the tent when Natsumi added, "You should take Kaia too, just in case someone does come. They'll be after her, so she will be in danger if she stays with me."

He nodded in agreement and carefully carried the girl inside the tent. He lied their charge down on a mat and took the second one next to her. "Wake me up in an hour," he whispered to his teammate.

"Of course, now get some sleep."

He sighed again. _Something tells me that she won't wake me when it's my shift. I guess I'll just have to trust her._ The Uchiha rested his head on his arm, closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep.

Natsumi looked at their surroundings, keeping vigilant while her teammate and her charge rested. She listened carefully for the two Stone ninja, but there was no human sound to be heard beside Kaia and Sasuke's breathing. The fire's crackling filledthe silent night oiutside the tent, and a light breeze carried a scent to the Niikyo's sensitive nose.

It was blood.

Quickly, the redhead keaned toward the tent and whispered urgently, "Sasuke, I smell blood. Stay with Kaia and I will go investigate."

"Okay." The voice was reluctant, but Natsumi had doused the fire to hide their location and was already gone, running toward the smell of spilled blood on the barren landscape.

* * *

Sorry this took so long. Hope you enjoyed it :)

~RedWolf210


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